Hope For The Girl Child World Vision International

Hope for the girl child
A Briefing Paper to the United Nations

Commission on the Status of W
omen at its 51st session
February 2007
prepared by World Vision
Copyright 2007 World Vision International

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form, except for brief excerpts in reviews,
without prior permission of the publisher.
Hope for the girl child: A briefing paper to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women at its 51st session
Published February 2007 by World Vision International, Gender and Development Department and World Vision
INternational Policy and Advocacy
www.globalempowerment.org
World Vision Partnership Offices

800 West Chestnut Avenue
Monrovia CA 91016-3198
USA
Editor: Ruthi Hoffman Hanchett

Copy-editor: Marina Mafani
Cover images clockwise from top left:

Sahina, 7, lives in a slum in India, holding out a bouquet of flowers photo: Jon Warren/World Vision; at a conference on
Good Family Treatment in El Salvador, boys and girls discussed ideas about how they expect to be treated by adults
photo: Katia Maldonado/World Vision; Prudence is an orphan who lives with her grandmother, Jeanne, in one of World
Vision DRCs Area Development Programmes photo: Lisa Jolly/World Vision; villagers walk regularly to their cassava farm,
which is 9 miles one way from their home plots photo: Jon Warren/World Vision; innovative teaching methods help to
improve the educational and recreational activities of children photo: World Vision
hope for
the girl child
a briefing paper
World V
ision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working
with children, families and communities world-wide to reach their full potential by tackling the
causes of poverty and injustice. As followers of Jesus, World V
ision is dedicated to working with
the worlds most vulnerable people. World V
ision serves all people regardless of religion, race,
ethnicity or gender.
Children are often most vulnerable to the effects of poverty. World Vision works with each
partner community to ensure that children are able to enjoy improved nutrition, health and
education. Where children live in especially difficult circumstances, surviving on the streets,
suffering in exploitative labour, or exposed to the abuse and trauma of conflict, W
orld V
ision
works to restore hope and to bring justice.
World V
ision recognises that poverty is not inevitable. Our Mission Statement calls us to challenge
those unjust structures that constrain the poor in a world of false priorities, gross inequalities and
distorted values. World V
ision desires that all people be able to reach their God-given potential,
and thus works for a world that no longer tolerates poverty.
hope for the girl child
Contents
Foreword ....................................................................................................
Preface ..............................................................................................................
Executive summary ..........................................................................................
Written statement
prepared for the 51st United Nations Commission on the Status of Women ....
Protecting girls in El Salvador ...........................................................................
Beyond enrolment: the impact of household duties on girls education

(The Democratic Republic of Congo) ...............................................................
16
Challenges facing institutionalised girls in Armenia ..........................................
25
Commercial sexual exploitation:

one of the worst forms of violence against the Indian girl child .......................
32
Empowerment: the key to girl child equity (Ghana) .........................................
39
Foreword
ender injustice is among the worlds greatest challenges. It drives so many other ills and affects
more than half the world.
Even though the international community has made measurable progress in recent years with regard
to gender equality, we still have a long way to go to create gender justice. A viable implementation
and enforcement framework of existing laws and international conventions is still needed.
Study after study shows the positive impact of gender equality on sustainable development and
on the well-being of children. As the former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, stressed, When
women are healthy, educated and free to take the opportunities life affords them, children thrive and
countries flourish, reaping a double dividend for women and children.
UNICEFs latest publication, The state of the worlds children 2007, shows how girls still lag behind
in education and access to health.1 It also examines the negative consequences of domestic violence,
commercial sexual exploitation and harmful traditional practices such as early marriage, premature
pregnancy, female genital mutilation and infanticide. The report stresses the urgent need to address
these issues through a gender lens.
World Vision is committed to justice, gender equity and children. These values are translated into
action on a daily basis through investing in the lives of women and girls. As an organisation, we have
committed to training our staff in gender equity and raising the awareness of communities, believing
that information can empower change. To date, we have trained over 1,000 staff and community
members with our World Vision Gender Training Toolkit.
This briefing paper is a collection of reports on the challenges and promising practices World Vision
has witnessed through our work with girls and their communities. The authors all draw upon their
experiences of daily work with girls in the context of sustainable development, and recommend steps
toward achieving gender justice.
I urge you to take these reports, stories, and recommendations seriously: the girls of the world are
counting on the international community to speak up for their rights.
www
Fatuma Hashi
Gender and Development Director
World Vision International
1. UNICEF, The state of the worlds children; 2007.
http://www.unicef.org/sowc07/report/report.php
Preface
orld Vision is a Christian organisation working for the well-being of poor and vulnerable people,
especially children. We tackle the causes of poverty through sustainable development and disaster
relief, and by raising public awareness and advocating for justice. We work in nearly 100 countries and,
like many development organisations, we have witnessed the rewards of investing in girls.
We commit a quarter of our Area Development Project budgets to education alone, especially targeting
girls. At the individual level, we support and supplement tuition and school supplies, and teach parents
the value of education and the dangers of harmful traditional practices that often keep girls from school.
At the collective level, we support the education of girls by building schools and roads to promote school
access, and by advocating for quality, inclusive education.
Focusing on the girl child also requires a focus on gender equity. Governments, civil society and parents
alike must prepare todays girls for adulthood while creating an environment where they will thrive,
contribute and fulfil their potential as women. World Vision is committed to mainstreaming gender
equity in every aspect of our work.
World Visions hope for the girl child is for her to be valued, loved, educated, empowered and free
to live life in all its fullness. It is a hope for boys and girls, men and women to share in healthy, equal
partnership. Only then will the girl child be free of all forms of discrimination and violence. May we all
be granted the will to make it so.
www
Ruthi Hoffman Hanchett
Gender, Advocacy and Communication Coordinator
World Vision International
Executive summary
his briefing paper to the member states of the

Commission on the Status of Women at its 51st
session shares some of World Visions programmes and
the lessons learned through our work to improve the
status of the girl child.
Reports from five nations and four continents describe
the context and the significant challenges facing
girls, as well as some of the promising practices and
recommendations for upholding their rights through
education, empowerment, community change and the
elimination of discrimination and violence.
Discriminatory attitudes, harmful traditional practices
and violence are extremely detrimental to an intolerable
number of girls and prevent us from reaching our
Millennium Development Goals, the Dakar Framework
for Action and the United Nations Girls Education
Initiative (UNGEI) goals of gender parity in primary
and secondary education. These goals, and real cultural
and behavioural change, are not impossible; they must
be sought with renewed commitment.
To truly eliminate all forms of discrimination and
violence against girls, action is required on all levels:
international, national and local. World Vision calls
upon all governments to address the problem of gender
inequity, by providing a framework through which
states can act, and citizens and development actors can
help hold them accountable.1
Action required by governments includes:
documenting the abuses and progress of girls and
making that information popularly known;
adequately funding initiatives to ensure childrens
rights;
improving school curricula, providing incentives to
girls education and ensuring free, compulsory and
quality inclusive education for all children;

upholding international treaties and enforcing

laws, especially for the prevention of gender-based
violence;
empowering families economically to prevent
worsening poverty and the harmful consequences of
child labour and exploitation;
providing adequate health services and abuse
prevention systems to protect children; and
educating all girls, boys, men and women on
childrens rights, womens rights and human rights,
as well as their roles and responsibilities in upholding
these rights through preventing violence and
discrimination, and building gender equity in the
home, community and nation.
Countries featured
El Salvador
Leon Rosales reveals that in El Salvador, like many
nations, the victims of poverty including girls, street
children, women, child labourers, indigenous people,
people who are disabled, and immigrants are often
ignored, suffering as forgotten people in a context of
indifference, and these prejudices require deep cultural
and individual transformation.2
Some of the worst forms of child exploitation in El
Salvador include the commercial sexual exploitation
of children, domestic labour and dangerous fishery
work; the consequences are often devastating for the
girls involved.
Mr Rosales reminds us that the elimination of child
labour often requires innovative income-generating
ideas for parents who rely on their children for
income. Economic development, training and loans
for parents help give children the freedom from
exploitation to enjoy their childhoods and complete
their education.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Frieda Mwebe explains how girls are so overburdened
with chores and labour in the home that they are not
able to prepare and rest for school. Thus, their education
suffers and they are denied their childrens rights.
World Visions survey finds that though most boys, men
and women know that girls are overloaded with work,
little is done to help girls or share in their workload.
This is due to beliefs about gender and a girls role,
and to the economic situation of the nation.
Ms Mwebe points out that the state is committed
by the DRC constitution to disseminate and teach
people the constitution and all other conventions
related to human rights. She recommends that
governments act swiftly to educate parents on
childrens and womens rights and the importance of
leisure time to girls education and well-being.
Armenia
The team from World Vision Armenias Child
Protection Programme shares some of the lessons
learned from working to protect childrens rights in
especially difficult circumstances, including institutions.
Believing that a healthy family environment is the
best place for children to grow up, World Vision (in
accordance with the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Child) focuses on strengthening
families and communities to care for their own
children and to de-institutionalise children.
However, even as temporary solutions, these
institutions deserve attention as they are often rife
with abuse and neglect. This is due to the poor
education and harmful attitudes of staff that do not
encourage girls in careers or education; many girls end
up pregnant, married early or exploited in prostitution
after leaving such institutions at the age of 15.
World Vision Armenia calls upon states to improve
the quality of these institutions while working to
make them obsolete. To achieve this, states must
initiate children into safe family environments as
soon as possible, support families so they can deinstitutionalise children, build gender equality, and
teach parents a rights-based approach to parenting and
new parenting skills that will enable their girl children
to be self-confident and successful.
India
Reena Samuel describes one of the most harmful
practices in India: the commercial sexual exploitation
of children.
This report examines the prostitution of girls and
the Devadasi system, which sexually exploits girls
and women and traps them in cycles of poverty and
abuse in the name of tradition and religion. World
Vision India works with women and children in the
sex trade to empower them with alternative income
choices, raise awareness of the harms of the sex trade
and educate their families and communities to protect
and prevent children from entering and repeating the
same cycle.
Fundamentally, the basis of this exploitation is the
unequal power and economic balance between a
girl child and a male adult. Ms Samuel reminds
governments and citizens that laws will have little
effect if we do not have concern for these girls and
women as fellow human beings, deserving of rights,
our protection and care.
Ghana
Teenage pregnancy, early marriage and child labour
are the primary challenges to the development of the
girl child in Ghana. Joyce Jackson shares some of the
results of a recent WV Ghana child rights survey that
identified the need to empower children, especially
girls. It calls for a government-sponsored massive
sensitisation of the public on child rights and the
effects of gender inequity, child labour, and abuse on
the growth and development of children.
Through case studies and in their own words, children
express their desire for more committed teachers,
clean water, parental involvement in their education,
and for girls to be treated with the same respect as
boys in school.
1. Development actors include international entities, such as the World Bank,

and smaller groups, such as community-based organisations and faith-based
organisations.
2. Gutirrez, G, Hablar de Dios, en Amrica Latina, desde los socialmente insignificantes, Revista Latinoamericana de Teologa Centro de Reflexin Teolgica
Universidad centroamericana Jos Simen Caas, mayo-agosto, ao XXII.,
San Salvador; 2005.
Written statement
prepared for the 51st United Nations

Commission on the Status of Women
New York, USA
26 February 9 March 2007
submitted by World Vision International
orld Vision International welcomes the 2007

Commission on the Status of Womens (CSW)
focus on the elimination of all forms of discrimination
and violence against the girl child.
Over the last 10 years, 189 countries have adopted the
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action with strong
recommendations to improve the status of the girl
child. The Millennium Development Goals have again
focused the worlds attention on the girl child and the
necessity of gender equity for the alleviation of poverty.
Yet today, while the international community has seen
great progress, governments are still struggling to fulfil
their commitments. More must be done to protect girls
from the countless acts of injustice they suffer and to
provide an environment in which they will thrive.
World Vision is a Christian relief, development and
advocacy organisation dedicated to working with
children, families and their communities worldwide
to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of
poverty and injustice. Inspired by our Christian values,
World Vision is dedicated to working with the worlds
most vulnerable people. We serve all people regardless
of religion, race ethnicity or gender.
World Vision works within nearly 100 nations realising
that gender equity is not only key to the prevention
of discrimination and violence, but also essential for
sustainable development, peace and the achievement
of healthy and just relationships. As a child focused
organisation, we prioritise the poorest and most
vulnerable children and empower them and their
families and communities to improve child survival,
development, protection and participation.
World Vision works alongside communities to
challenge harmful traditional practices that hurt girls, to

foster respect and value for girls, and to empower girls

to be active participants of their own development and
become leaders of their communities.
For the elimination of all forms of discrimination and
violence against the girl child, World Vision calls upon
the CSW Member States to uphold childrens rights
through educating girls and preventing violence.
Uphold childrens rights

The principle of non-discrimination and the right to
protection from abuse and exploitation are some of the
cornerstones of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC), and yet the abuse and discrimination of
girls too often go unnoticed and unpunished. In order
to protect the rights of girls, states must uphold the
CRC, gender inequity must be addressed, and all people
sensitised to childrens and womens rights.
World Vision recommends that governments:

1. Work with non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) to commit to adequately recording
social statistical data by disaggregating
records of women and girls, men and
boys, and create indicators and monitoring
systems to track the status of the girl child.
2. Enforce the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW) and its Optional
Protocol, and the Convention on the Rights
of the Child (CRC) and its two Optional
Protocols, with funding and accountability
mechanisms, and enhance the political
will needed to do so, as governments are
legally bound by the conventions. Ensure
that all citizens understand the provisions
of the conventions and other laws for
3.
4.
5.
6.
the protection of human rights, and the

importance of the prevention of violence
and abuse to protect vulnerable girls and
women. This can be achieved through
school curricula and through educating all
children, parents, teachers, welfare and law
enforcement officers on childrens rights and
human rights.
Reduce child labour and ensure completion
of primary and secondary education by
empowering parents, especially mothers, with
income-generating skills and by providing
them with loans for small businesses and
market access for their products.
Enhance health care delivery in rural
areas by providing additional health care
facilities, increased medical personnel
(including traditional birth attendants), and
increased access to medication, including
anti-retroviral drugs, and work together
with civil society to reduce the stigma and
discrimination that surround people affected
by HIV and AIDS.
Support the formation of communitybased abuse prevention activities, including
child protection committees, mentoring
programmes, provision of day care centres
for children of working parents, and
psychological, legal and social support to
families and orphaned children. Work with
parents to promote a rights-based approach
to parenting and gender equality, and support
them in learning new parenting skills,
including non-violent forms of discipline that
will enable their girl children to develop selfconfidence and the will to achieve.
Engage men and boys to create gender
parity: encourage them to contribute to the
work of household chores and to challenge
violence and gender roles and traditions that
are unjust and harmful.
Educate girls
High illiteracy rates among women and lower school
attendance rates among girls, especially at the secondary
level, constitute discrimination against the girl child.
Unreasonable workloads in the home, preferences for
sons, a disregard for the rights of girls, early marriage,
child labour, poverty, and the threat of violence keep
too many girls from completing their education and
trap them and their families in cycles of poverty.

World Vision and the international community
acknowledge that the education of girls is one of the
most effective methods for the development of a nation
and the eradication of poverty, and that educating girls
also protects them from discrimination and violence.
To this end, World Vision recommends that

governments:
7. Prioritise girls education through committing a significant portion of the national
budget to ensure free, compulsory and
quality inclusive education for all (including children with disabilities). Incentives
like school feeding programmes, providing uniforms and books, career education,
and boarding facilities and scholarships for
higher education motivate and ensure high
retention and completion rates.
8. Improve the quality of education. Reform
curricula to better engage girl children and
eliminate gender-biased language; apply
innovative teaching methods and learning
materials that encourage boys and girls
to challenge harmful traditional roles and
adopt equitable relationships; raise awareness
of childrens rights; prepare girls for the
workplace; and provide incentives to attract
and maintain quality teachers, especially in
rural areas.
9. Ensure that reproductive health and sex
education are taught in the classroom and
encourage values-based decision making.
Challenge harmful and risky behaviour,
and empower children and youth to avoid
unwanted sex, with the prevention of HIV
and sexually transmitted infections as a
central tenet.
10. Ensure girls who are orphaned, married
girls, pregnant girls and teenage mothers
stay in traditional school programmes.
Develop training courses for teachers to
understand girls needs. Provide specialised
educational programmes and materials
of good quality that incorporate life skills
including literacy, numeracy, health and
income-generating skills for children with
disabilities, institutionalised children, girls
who have previously dropped out of school,

and girls in especially difficult circumstances.

Incorporate recreation time and flexible
school schedules so youth may continue
their education and transform the lives of
their daughters, families, selves and society.
Prevent violence
The majority of the worlds women and girls will
experience violence; whether its physical, psychological
or sexual violence, it plagues every community and
many homes. Violence damages health, can prevent
education and economic ability, and can forever scar the
girls spiritual, psychological and emotional well-being.
States must take extraordinary action to protect their
most vulnerable citizens: girl children.
To this end, World Vision recommends that

governments:
11. Prevent all forms of child abuse, through
community-based education and sensitisation. Educate men and boys especially on
their roles in preventing violence against the
girl child and the rights of the girl child to be
free of sexual exploitation; educate girls on
their rights and empower them to recognise
and even prevent abuse and unwanted sex.
12. Sensitise individuals, communities and law
protection forces to understand, recognise
and protect women and girls who are
trafficked and forced into prostitution;
create and fund multinational and regional
coalitions to stop human trafficking,
prevent child sex tourism, and identify and
prosecute traffickers and abusers of women
and children.
13. Provide care centres, in partnership with
NGOs, for counselling and restoring girls
and women who are victims of violence,
sexual exploitation, and abuse, and empower
these girls and women through job skills
training.
14. Fund and enforce the strict implementation
of national policies on violence and
discrimination against women and girl
children and incorporate follow-up actions
to the 2006 UN Secretary-Generals study
on Violence against Children and the 2006
UN Secretary-Generals in-depth study on
violence against women.

World Vision acknowledges the significant challenge of

citizens to hold governments accountable. Therefore,
we call on all CSW Member States to take seriously
their previous commitments to girls rights, womens
rights and human rights. We urge governments to put
mechanisms in place to enforce the implementation
of their own commitments, to put power behind
the treaties and agreements they endorse and sign.
Furthermore, World Vision suggests partnership with
social institutions and civil society such as churches,
councils of elders, womens and mens organisations,
educators, childrens clubs, community leaders and
parents to ensure the elimination of all forms of
discrimination and violence against the girl child.
Protecting girls in
El Salvador

World Vision El Salvador
l Salvador has sufficient legal instruments to ensure

dignity, integrity and justice for all individuals.
The government has recently committed to eliminating

child labour through its National Plan 20062009
for the Eradication of the Worst Forms of Child
Labour, in coordination with the International Labour
Organization (ILO).1
The Ministry of Educations National Plan 2021
includes alternative programmes, such as Effective
School Networks, which seek to improve the quality of
educational services for children living in poverty and
also form part of the government initiative Solidarity
Network, which gives a monthly payment to families
in extreme poverty in an effort to increase school
attendance.2 Additionally, the Salvadoran government
has adopted a number of international conventions to
protect the rights of women and children (see table, p10).
World Vision El Salvador urges more decisive efforts to

protect children, especially girls, from grave violations,
particularly by employing existing legislation, including
the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
By examining the educational environment of the
girl child and some of the worst forms of exploitation
that harm girls in El Salvador, this paper offers
recommendations to eliminate discrimination and
violence against the girl child.
Despite these achievements, disturbing violations of

human rights persist in this country. Many forms of
discrimination especially affect women, boys, and girls,
mainly living in poverty.3 United Nations agencies have
been measuring the Human Development Index for living
standards in El Salvador, revealing alarming signs and
exposing significant gaps between abundance and scarcity.
In reflecting on Latin America, Peruvian theologian
Gustavo Gutirrez emphasises that poverty does not
only come from the economic environment, but
from social atavisms, economic structures, social,
cultural and gender prejudices...; street children,
women, child labourers, indigenous people, people
with disabilities, and immigrants are ignored by the
law, suffering as forgotten people in a context of
indifference, and these deep prejudices require cultural
and individual transformation.4
At a conference on Good Family Treatment in El Salvador, boys and girls discussed ideas about
how they expect to be treated by adults.
photo: Katia Maldonado/World Vision
Political will
Local development institutions in El Salvador believe
that government decision-makers lack the political will
to act for the equal protection of individuals.5 Studies
indicate that in many cases, leaders and those in charge
of administering justice are unaware of international
human rights legislation.6 The legal institutions meant
to defend these rights also lack political backing and
adequate financing.
An example of the lack of political will is that
the Republic of El Salvador still has not ratified
the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW), an instrument considered
fundamental to improving and preserving the quality
of life for women. Despite the creation and approval
of laws and policies protecting women and children
such as the Code of the Family and Procedural Law of
the Family (1994), Law Against Intra-family Violence
(1996), General Law of Education (1996), National
Womens Policy (1997), and the foundation of the
Salvadoran Institute for Womens Development (an
institution governing the Womens Policy as a followup to the Beijing Conference7) El Salvador has yet
to effectively implement the provisions concerning
domestic violence.8
Furthermore, after the ratification of international
treaties, it is often left to the discretion of agencies to
System
UN-CEDAW
UN
UN
UN
UN-ILO
UN
UN-ECLAC
UN-ILO
OAS
10
enact the secondary laws required to make the spirit of

the agreement a reality.
Salvadoran womens associations acquired prestige
following the 1992 Peace Accords that brought an end
to 12 years of civil war. The vitality of these movements
in the following years earned the country substantial
participation in the Fourth World Conference on
Women in Beijing in 1995.9 Yet, the nation has still
not met its goal of achieving full rights and protection
for women and girls. Obstacles remain because of
social order favours the needs and perspectives of men,
maintaining their power through attitudes that justify
abuse and aggression against women and girls.
Beat Rohr, representative for the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP) in El Salvador,
affirmed that the 2004 Human Development Index
indicates that women are 12 places behind men in El
Salvador.10 This constitutes a tremendous challenge
for groups working to promote the rights of women
and girls.
The womens movement has lost some of its power now
that it has become more involved with and embedded
in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and is
subject to the constraints of cooperative agencies.11 But
it continues to have a presence, combating violence
against women and girls, on the street and in the mass
media, along with environmental groups that support
Instrument
Date signed
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination Against Women (1979)
Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952)
May 1981
Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination

Against Women (1967)
Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children
in Emergency and Armed Conflict (1974)
Discrimination in Respect of Employment and
Occupation (1958)
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against
Women (1993)
Beijing Platform for Action (1995)
(declaration) 1967
November 1993
Date ratified
Legislative decree
7059, June 1981
Legislative decree
754, 15 December
1993
(declaration) 1974
12 April 1994
Legislative decree
78, 14 July 1994
(declaration) 1993
(declaration) 1995
Convention Concerning Equal Remuneration for Men

and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value (1951)
Inter-American Convention on the Granting of Political 15 December 1950
Rights to Women (1948)
No required
ratification
12 October 2003
Legislative decree
430, 23 August 1995
Some international instruments concerning women, adopted by the Salvadoran government.

Source: UNDP (2004)
The Ministry of Education reported first grade coverage

increased to 99.5% in 2002, as a result of the spread
of schools. However, there was still largely inadequate
access and coverage of preschool education; just over
51% of children aged 46 years were reportedly out of
preschool.15
Children draw, paint, and participate in diverse activities that educate them in human rights
photo: Katia Maldonado/World Vision
human rights, such as Environmental Unity (UNES),

and church groups.
Most international instruments regarding primarily
women and childrens rights were ratified after the
1992 Peace Accords. These Accords allowed the
creation of the Attorney Generals Office for Human
Rights Defence (guardianship of the citizens before the
state) and a National Civilian Police that ended the
oppression by militarised bodies.
However, the role of the Attorney Generals Office for
Human Rights Defence has been reduced to simply an
observer of the protection of human rights for women.
This office will no longer be able to receive reports of
abuses or to document, via investigation, the political
participation of women.12 The rights of women and girls
do not appear to be a priority in the current political
climate of El Salvador, making them more vulnerable to
abuse and to economic, labour, domestic and cultural
discrimination.
Educational environment
The governmental educational reform that began in
1995 has made great efforts to achieve equality, with
basic education now reaching almost 100% of children
through the opening of schools throughout the country.
Access to education has increased to the extent that
there is almost no place where elementary children
cannot walk to school.13 There has been progress
towards gender equality in access to education, and
increasingly more boys and girls are at the appropriate
educational level for their age.14
First, I Learn is an initiative financed by the US

Department of Labor which promotes the right to
education for children and teenagers at risk of work.16
Minister Darlyn Meza announced that the government
would absorb, in 2007, the levelling classes system
proposed by the ILOs International Programme on
the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) to benefit
children who are at risk of dropping out of school due
to work.17 Compulsory fees in public schools up to 9th
grade were eliminated through a majority vote by the
Legislative Assembly.18
But there are still situations that prevent children
from remaining in the classroom. Boys and girls are
beginning to leave school in the third grade. And
only 40% of the children who start secondary school
continue with their studies.19 Among the reasons
children give for not going to school are: I have to
work, Theres no money and Im not interested.20
Absenteeism among girls is not only due to a demand
for work and a lack of money, but because girls are
expected and required to stay home to do housework.
According to UNICEF, persistent child labour prevents
us reaching the Millennium Development Goal of
universal primary education (goal 2) and gender
equality in primary and secondary education (a key
indicator of goal 3).21
The low appeal of schooling is another issue in El
Salvador. According to Ernesto Schifelbein an expert
and international adviser of public education from
the Harvard Education Institute students learn little
because the frontal method used: the teacher leads
the class with dictation and memorisation instead
of mobilising the childrens mental faculties through
intelligent questions.22
Educational studies indicate that girls generally perform
better academically. However, teachers dont attribute
this to intellectual ability, but rather to stereotypical
gender characteristics (i.e. being quiet, well-behaved).
11
Unfortunately, in most classrooms a masculine language

prevails whereby teachers devalue girls responses and
respond more positively to boys use of language.23
Quite frequently, teachers will assign the girls to
school jobs that are traditionally female roles, such as
mopping, sweeping and decorating, reinforcing gender
stereotypes.
Another violation of the rights of girls is the lack of sex
education. This system of information denial is supported by the belief that less information reduces early
sexual activity and unplanned pregnancies, but results
indicate the opposite effect: 36% of children born in
the country are born to girls under the age of 18.24
Discrimination against children:

especially onerous to girls
First and foremost, it is essential to note that if women
suffer from discrimination and their needs and problems
are unseen, the situation is even worse for girls. Yet, as a
specific population group, girls are insufficiently covered
in national statistics. In the documentation that does
exist, most of the data on children does not further
disaggregate by gender, making analyses difficult.
Sadly, many children, both boys and girls, suffer verbal,
physical, psychological and sexual abuse in their own
homes; but the proportion of girls who suffer sexual
abuse and rape is greater.25 The physical punishment,
emotional violence, negligence and sexual abuse that
many boys and girls experience within their homes is
perpetrated by relatives, close friends and their own
fathers. The abuse of children, especially children
with disabilities, that takes place in the home is often
invisible and left unpunished.26 Mistreatment and sexual
abuse have serious repercussions on the dignity, health
and development of children. Most violations and abuse
are not reported partly because of a demonstrated lack
of follow-through and trust in local authorities.
Both boys and girls also experience violations of their
rights through child labour. According to the 2003
Salvadoran Multiple Purpose Homes survey (Encuesta de
Hogares de Propsitos Mltiples) cited by the ILO, there
were 288,221 boys, girls, and adolescents performing
some type of labour activity, remunerated or not.27
Although both boys and girls suffer mistreatment and
abuse, the situation for girls is far worse in terms of
sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and domestic work.28
12
Veronica, 12, enjoys sweet buns from the oven her mother received from Word Visions Micro-economic
Development programme. Her mother also undertook nutritional training through World Vision, helping
Veronica who was malnourished.
photo: Andrew Goodwin/World Vision
Exploitation
What are the worst forms of exploitation that harm
girls? The ILO classified the worst forms of child labour
in El Salvador as:
commercial sexual exploitation;
fishery work (mainly for molluscs gathered in
mangrove swamps);
gathering materials to be sold from garbage dumps;
manufacturing fireworks;
harvesting sugarcane; and
domestic work at home and in the homes of others.29
All these entail many physical risks and are often
denigrating. In this report, we focus on the situation of
girls in commercial sexual exploitation, domestic work
and fishery work.
Commercial sexual exploitation

One of the most damaging forms of child labour in El
Salvador is commercial sexual exploitation. According to
the ILO, this terrible abuse mainly affects children from
the lowest classes, many who still live with their parents.
This horrific abuse of children does not even belong in
the category of labour since it is in fact violence and
abuse committed against children, especially girls.
Among the ILO research sample of prostituted children

in the metropolitan area of the capital, 40% attend
school, 4% have a secondary education, but 20% have
not completed secondary school. Girls, who are more
abused than boys in commercial sexual exploitation, are
at risk of deteriorating health and frequently contract
sexually transmitted infections, even HIV. As a result
of the abuse and trauma of this exploitation, they
experience anxiety, feelings of guilt and worthlessness,
suicidal thoughts, post-traumatic stress disorder,
depression, fear, sadness, and other emotionally scarring
conditions.30
Furthermore, sexually exploited girls risk becoming
pregnant (9.6%), being physically attacked (29.8%),
experiencing police abuse (21.3%), receiving insults
(50%), and having access to drugs (42.6%) and alcohol
(37.2%).31 According to the ILO, the largest group of
sexually exploited children is in the age range of 11
to 17, although their first sexual experiences typically
happen earlier (between the ages of 10 and 14, but even
as young as six), often when they are raped. It must
be noted that children subjected to sexual exploitation
have often previously suffered mistreatment and abuse
from their families.
Domestic work
Another of the worst forms of child labour for girls is
exploitation through domestic work that becomes a
type of slavery and can include harassment and physical,
emotional and sexual abuse. According to the Public
Opinion Institute of the Central American University
(Instituto de Opinin Pblica de la Universidad
Centroamericana, UCA), cited by the UNDP, 97% of
hired domestic work is done by women.32 Many young
people abandon their communities looking for a job in
the cities as maids and are then exposed to exhausting
work with little rest, no social benefits and a salary
lower than the minimum wage of the cities (around
US$152 a month).
Fishery work
Mollusc fishing conjures up images of very dangerous
work for young boys. Yet in El Salvador, girls are equally
involved in this hazardous occupation. The situation
of poverty in the mangrove lined coastal zones of the
country means that boys and girls are often forced to
pick molluscs. Children have to swim, sail on canoes,
or walk to the places where they carry out their work.
Generally, they look for the molluscs in swampy soil
interlaced with an intricate system of mangrove roots

exposed at the ebb tide and in caves of putrefied mud.
After paying off the coyote brokers a family will take
home only $2.50 for about 60 shells gathered, while
popular mollusc cocktails with eight to 10 shells sell for
$3 dollars at city restaurants.
World Visions response

World Vision (WV) El Salvador seeks to eliminate child
exploitation and to allow girls and boys to attend classes
regularly. This requires alternative income generation
for families, such as fishponds, the introduction of
plantation cultivation, and other innovations. Job skills
training and small loans also improve families financial
situations and work to eliminate child labour, also
making children less vulnerable to sexual exploitation.
All of WVs work to alleviate poverty, to empower
women, to educate communities on childrens rights
and the value of the girl child, and to challenge harmful
traditional practices and attitudes help to protect
girls from these worst forms of exploitation. We also
encourage teachers to use methodologies that address
the diverse learning styles and preferences of children in
situations of poverty and exploitation.
Despite the governments progress in the legal field,
policies to protect girls and women against all forms of
discrimination and mistreatment are not yet effective.
There is a deficiency of information categorised by
gender, making it difficult to analyse the true status
of the violence and discrimination against girls and
rendering them invisible in records and policies.
To address these issues, World Vision makes a number of
recommendations for action by a range of development
actors, internationally, nationally and locally.
In particular, World Vision recommends that the

government:
Protect human rights
1. Work with NGOs to adequately record
social statistical data by creating indicators
and monitoring systems to track the status
of the girl child.
2. Uphold international treaties on human
rights, turn ratified international agreements
into concrete national laws for the
eradication of human rights violations
13
Ana
33
It is watered-down, there is a lot of mud, and

when you step into it, you sink. The mud stinks and
sometimes there are thorns or pieces of shells that
wound our feet and hands...34
This is a common description made by children that
work daily in the mangrove swamps, where they pick
shells to generate income to help sustain the family.
Ana, 12, is the eldest of three children and lives in
Cantn San Felipe, Municipio de Concepcin Batres,
Usulutn. She studies first grade in a school located
about 300 metres from her house. She has been in
first grade for two consecutive years. My mom did
not have money, that is why she did not send me to
school until I was 11 although the other children
go to school at seven, eight or nine years.
Ana said she only goes to school from Wednesday
to Friday because on Monday and Tuesday she goes
to work in the mangrove swamp. Besides, I wash
clothes, run errands, haul water, sweep she says.
She confesses that she hardly knows how to read
and that she writes with no confidence. What do the
teachers say when she misses many classes? Nothing,
she answers.
Ana says that in the future she wants to continue
going to the mangrove swamp even though school is
more fun and the mosquitoes do not bite there and
her hands do not get wounded.
Her hands are big and strong, as a worker. Her face
is tender, innocent, almost angelic. Her words and
silence reveal that poverty is something natural for
her. Her mother has taught her not to mention their
suffering to strangers.
To take advantage of the daylight they start at 6am
and end at 3pm, when they sail home to return the
rented canoe to its owner. When the tide is favourable,
Anas family goes to an island and spends the night
outside under the relentless attack of mosquitoes.
They smoke, even the children, to drive away the
mosquitoes while picking the molluscs.
14
and work with civil society to ensure the

fulfilment of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child. (Ratify the Optional Protocol
of CEDAW and enforce this with funding,
accountability mechanisms, and political
will. Strengthen the National Institute for
Children and Adolescents with political and
financial power to enforce the Convention
of the Rights of the Child, especially to
prevent abuse and child labour, and ensure
every childs right to education.
Child labour and abuse
3. Create and fund coalitions to stop the
trafficking of children and child sex tourism,
and to prosecute traffickers and abusers of
children.
4. Create rehabilitation centres to address the
many needs of sexually exploited children.
5. Prioritise programmes that facilitate the
participation of poor families in decision
making and reduce child labour through
new income-generating ideas for parents;
economic development, training and loans
for parents to help free children from
exploitation, enjoy their childhoods and
complete their education.
Education
6. Fulfil commitments to free, universal,
quality, primary education and improve the
access and quality of education (including
early education) in remote and poor
communities by applying new solutions
to keep students in school, including
meal incentives, and teaching parents the
importance of education.
7. Include sex education in school curricula
that challenges harmful and risky
behaviours, encourages responsibility, and
empowers children and youth to avoid
unwanted sex.
8. Promote continued education, prioritising
young women and mothers, linking
education with women and girls productive,
political and cultural opportunities.
9. Train teachers and raise awareness to
eliminate sexist language and gender
inequity in the classroom; equip teachers to
address the diversity of learning styles.
Equality
10. Work to promote new definitions of
masculinity that reject aggression and
abuse and encourage mutual respect and
collaboration.
11. Municipalities should encourage the
participation of women and adolescents
in development and politics; extend and
deepen the role of the Womens National
Institute (ISDEMU) to play a more active
role, not only in dealing with intra-family
violence but also in the field of womens
participation in politics and labour.
www
by Len A Rosales, Education Quality Assessor, World
Vision El Salvador
1. Vicepresidenta Ana Vilma de Escobar, Republica de El Salvador, Discursos,

Mensaje de la Seora Vicepresidenta de la Repblica de El Salvador Lcda.
Ana Vilma Albanez de Escobar, Plan Nacional 20042009 para la erradicacin de las peores formas de trabajo infantile y juramentacin del comit
nacional http://www.casapres.gob.sv/vicepresidenta/discursos/2006/09/
discv2001.html
2. http://www.mined.gob.sv/
3. ILO/IPEC, Explotacin sexual comercial y masculinidad. Un estudio regional cualitativo con hombres de la poblacin general [Commercial sexual exploitation and
masculinity. A qualitative regional study with men from the general population],
San Jos; 2004.
4. G Gutirrez, Hablar de Dios, en Amrica Latina, desde los socialmente insignificantes, Revista Latinoamericana de Teologa Centro de Reflexin Teolgica
Universidad centroamericana Jos Simen Caas, mayo-agosto, ao XXII.,
San Salvador; 2005.
5. Red para la infancia y la adolescencia de El Salvador [El Salvador network
for children and adolescents], Entre avances y retrocesos. Estudio de la
situacin de los derechos humanos de la niez y adolescencia en Centroamrica
19982005 [Progress and regress. A study of the status of human rights among
children and adolescents in Central America 19982005], UCA editores, San
Salvador; 2005.
6. ibid.
7. United Nations Development Program (UNDP), La equidad de gnero en El
Salvador, Cuadernos sobre desarrollo humano [Gender equality in El Salvador,
Notes on human development], San Salvador; 2004.
8. ibid.
9. ibid.
10. ibid.
11. ibid.
12. ibid.
13. Fundacin Empresarial para el desarrollo educativo (FEPADE) [Business
Foundation for Educational Development], Estudio de necesidades educativas.
Insumos para el desarrollo del programa ALCANCE [Study of needs in education.
Input for developing the ALCANCE program], San Salvador; 2004.
14. ibid.
Foundation for Educational Development], op. cit.
16. Primero Aprendo [First, I Learn]. http://www.primeroaprendo.org/
17. El Diario de Hoy, 1 December 2006, p 30. http://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/2006/12/01/nacional/nac7.asp
18. El Diario de Hoy, 31 October, 2003.
19. Fundacin Empresarial para el desarrollo educativo (FEPADE), op. cit.
20. ibid.
21. UNICEF, Los nios y las nias que realizan trabajos peligrosos corren un grave
riesgo de sufrir lesiones y de no recibir una educacin. http://www.unicef.org/
spanish/sowc06/profiles/labour.php
22. E Schiefelbein, Se reduce la repeticin, desercin y extra edad pero contina el bajo aprendizaje especialmente en los grupos de menores ingresos,
[Rates of repeating grades, dropping out and lagging behind ones age level
are all improving, but learning levels are still low, especially in lower-income
groups]. Materials for Masters studies in Educational Policy, San Salvador.
Preliminary version; 2005.
Foundation for Educational Development], ibid.
24. Mauricio Gaborit y otros, Mas all de la invisibilidad, disparidad de gnero en El
Salvador, UCA editores, San Salvador; 2003. pp 150, 158.
25. Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Womens
Rights, The rights of children and adolescents in El Salvador, an alternative
report; 2004. p 10. http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.36/
El%20Salvador_ngo_report_CLADEM(E).pdf
26. Larisa Brioso, Mercedes Burgos, Todas y todos tenemos derecho a
florecer. Abuso sexual en la niez con discapacidad, Save the Children,
Suecia para Centroamrica; 2002.
27. ILO/IPEC, Entendiendo el trabajo infantil en El Salvador 20032005
[Understanding child labour in El Salvador], San Salvador; 2005. www.ipec.
oit.or.cr/region/paises/elsalvador.shtml ; This statistic has been reduced to
218,000, according to the Director of the ILO during the Presentacin de
estudio Opciones educativas para la Niez trabajadora [Presentation of the study
Educational Options for the Working Child], OIT PREAL MINED, El Salvador;
30 November 2006.
28. Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Womens
Rights, op. cit.
29. ILO/IPEC; 2006. op. cit.
30. ILO/IPEC, Explotacin sexual comercial de nios nias y adolescentes. Una evaluacin rpida, El Salvador; 2002. www.ipec.oit.or.cr/region/paises/elsalvador.
shtml
31. ibid.
32. United Nations Development Program, op. cit.
33. This is an alias, not the childs real name.
34. ILO/IPEC, Trabajo infantil en la pesca. Una evaluacin rpida; 2002.
References
1. Human Rights Watch, Sin descanso. Abusos contra nias trabajadoras domsticas
en El Salvador, Vol. 16, No. 1(B); 2004. https://www.hrw.org/spanish/informes/2004/elsalvador0104/
2. Ministry of Education, Equidad de genero en el aula. Base de datos de diez escuelas en El Salvador, San Salvador, USAID/FEPADE; 2002.
3. Orellana, Antonio, Arana Rub, El Salvador: Masculinidad y factores socioculturales asociados a la paternidad, San Salvador, UNFPA; 2003.
15
Beyond enrolment:
the impact of household duties

on girls education
World Vision Democratic Republic of Congo
n the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),

past efforts by government and non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) to encourage girls education
have led to higher levels of enrolment of girls in school.
This result is laudable, especially in light of the unrest
of the recent years. Yet discrimination continues to
limit educational opportunities for many girls. Much
more than boys, girls are required to fulfil a wide range
of household tasks, which limit their time and energy
for homework. Government and non-governmental
agencies need to continue working beyond the
promotion of enrolment to examine issues and change
attitudes and behaviours which limit girls advancing in
their education.
National context
The 32-year dictatorship of Mobutu was characterised
by mismanagement of public affairs and corruption
leading to the deterioration of social systems and basic
infrastructures, including health centres, schools,
provision of safe potable water, and agriculture
extension services. Following Mabutus rule, in 1998
the DRC was ranked 143rd on the UNDP Human
Development Index.1 The overall situation of the
country was further degraded due to the 5-year war
with rebels backed by the RwandanUgandan
Burundian coalition. The resulting breakdown of the
family and increased childrens rights violations within
and outside the family have coincided with the violence
and deterioration of the nation over the last decades.
Unfortunately, the children of the DRC have
experienced a high prevalence of child rights abuses
in the recent decade. An estimated four million lives
have been lost in the violent conflict since 1998 and
many of them were children. The Secretary-General to
the Security Council Working Group on Children and
Armed Conflict reporting on the situation of the DRC
16
declared that serious violations of childrens rights are

continuing with impunity. The practices noted include
the recruitment and use of children in armed forces;
group abduction; sexual violence and sexual slavery;
killing; maiming; and attacks on schools by dissident
groups in the conflict areas. In addition, in 2003 the
international NGO Watchlist on Children and Armed
Conflict reported that the DRC was a significant
country of origin for trafficking in persons. Congolese
women, presumably including girls, were trafficked
to Europe, mainly France and Belgium, for sexual
exploitation.2
Some notable improvements have been made regarding the recruitment of child soldiers; many have been
demobilised and returned to their families or communities. Cases of child abuses, such as rape and other
dehumanising physical punishment, have been reported
to the DRC courts and fines or jail terms have been imposed. Appropriate actions are being taken by UNICEF
in collaboration with the Women and Family Ministry
together with child protection networks. Within this
context of human rights violations, many girls continue
to pursue education as a means to a better future.
Girls education
One of the mandates of UNICEF is the support of girls
education through the United Nations Girls Education
Initiative (UNGEI). The goal of this initiative was to
attain gender parity in primary and secondary education
by 2005. (This was a target shared by the Millennium
Development Goals and the Dakar Framework for
Action.3) Another goal is to ensure that by 2015,
children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to
complete primary school.
The Education For All - Fast Track Initiative (EFA-FTI)
commenced in 2002 to promote quality education
in developing countries through infrastructure,

learning material and capacity building. There are 30
bilateral and multilateral donors and UN agencies
which comprise the EFA-FTI partnership, and the
World Bank is the secretariat. While the World Bank
has contributed funds towards the DRC to provide
primary education for all Congolese children, the DRC
government considered the contribution insufficient to
cover the cost of teachers salaries. The DRC now has
an elected government which will be accountable for its
National Plan and any funds that are received. One of
the new presidents priorities is education, but at present
the government allows only 6% of its annual budget for
this.4 The new government needs international support
to ensure that the DRC enters the FTI, as there is
currently no specific entry date.
Domains
primary school entrants reaching grade 5
(1997-2004)
secondary school enrolment ratio (20002004), male
secondary school enrolment ratio (20002004), female
secondary school attendance ratio (19962004), male
secondary school attendance ratio (19962004), female
adult literacy rate (2000-2004), male
adult literacy rate (2000-2004), female
%
54
24
13
girls are abandoning schools due to pregnancy and

early marriage.
There are few women in leadership positions within the
government and the number of women depending on
their spouse for survival is still very high due to their
lack of education.7 Womens voices are often not heard
within the family. This cultural value system is taught
to children through daily exposure to the family life
and the division of house chores. Boys learn what is
normal through observation and imitate what they see
their father and brothers are doing. The same applies
to girls who know they must follow their mothers and
sisters model. Generally speaking, girls in the DRC
do all chores related to the kitchen, care, shopping
and cleaning, while boys do repairing, building and
technical work.
Girls education is not sufficiently supported because
the culture and economic situation of the nation put
pressure on girls to do most household work. There
is gender inequality within families, which adversely
affects girls performance in school. The majority of
18
15
80
52
Table 1: Some indicators related to education in DRC 5
UNICEF reports that on average in the DRC, 52% of

boys were enrolled in primary school while 47% of girls
were enrolled. In recent years, there has been a growing
awareness of the importance of enrolling girls at school
and improvements have been made toward attaining the
objective of gender parity. However, rural areas do not
enjoy such equity in primary school enrolment.
A recent study conducted by Pact Congo in Katanga
province indicated that the illiteracy rate among women
in villages is as high as 99%, while in urban areas it is
lower at 40% (i.e. 60% are literate).6
Women and girls need better education and equity in
the DRC. The rate of school enrolment of children
in urban areas is 71.6%, while in rural areas it is only
43.6%. The average rate of teenage pregnancy is 26%,
Estella, 15, was orphaned in 1994 by the war and holds her niece Shimene. During the 2002
volcanic eruptions in Goma, Shimenes mother went to the bathroom and never returned. Estella
grabbed the baby and ran.
photo: Ellen Ericson Kupp/World Vision
17
the population with large families cant afford house

workers as they are very poor and still struggle to get
food and pay school fees for their children.
The DRC strategy of growth and poverty reduction
outlines issues related to gender, girls education and
access to safe water.8 Only 12% of people in rural areas
have access to potable water and only 37% in urban
areas. The DRCs water supplier hasnt enough resources
to adapt to the constant population growth, especially
in towns. This means that not only are many girls
denied the right to clean drinking water but they must
spend good portions of their day securing water for
their families.
A study was conducted in the Operational

Development Area of World Vision (WV) called
Kimilolo Area Development Programme (Kimilolo
ADP) which includes three sites (Kafubu, Bongonga
and Kampemba); Kafubu schools were targeted for the
research. Kimilolo is a suburb of Lubumbashi town,
which is a peri-urban site where the population is
generally poor and households have an average of six
children. Families survive on a combination of farming
activities, casual labour, working for the government
(low-level civil service) or operating a small business.
The study aimed to:
demonstrate how household chores are distributed
among children in a family (between boys and girls)
Many children work for their families and various

reports state that some travel more than 10 kilometres
on foot to look for food and other provisions.9 The
DRC will not achieve the Millennium Development
Goals unless there is focus on this issue and action to
release girls within the family so that they have enough
time to concentrate on their studies.
establish the correlation between daily chores for girls

and their performance in school
Case study on household chores
Interviewees were asked about the household chores

of boys and girls, the amount of time devoted to such
chores and who did them. Participants discussed the
daily activities of family members and the quality of
student performance.
Girls in grade six were chosen as a point of focus for this

case study because this is a critical year for students. In
the DRC, grade six students must take a selective exam,
similar to a state exam, which marks the end of primary
school and is compulsory for access to secondary school.
If a student fails this exam, he or she will not graduate
but might repeat the year. Good performance at this
level is crucial to the childs educational future and
critical for parents who struggle to pay school fees.
Kafubu Schools:
Schooling year 20042005
total enrolled
girls
699
boys
753
percentage of those who did well 68.37% 68.36%

Table 2: Performance indicators of 11 schools in Kafubu schools,10 Kimilolo
ADP (note: this table is not a comparison of school quality)
Primary school
girls boys
total enrolled
875
737
number of students who did well
655
579
percentage of those who did well
75%
78%
Table 3: Performance indicators of primary school for sponsored children of

WV Kimilolo ADP 11
18
elicit lessons and make recommendations on

appropriate actions that may help improve girls
education by creating an environment that enables
academic development
Data collection and sample

The study employed interviews with guided survey
questions, focus group discussions and secondary
population data. The five focus groups involved the
girls of a grade six class, boys only, women only, men
only, and teachers and development workers who are
responsible for children sponsored by WV.
Over 150 participants responded to the questionnaire
either in focus groups or interviews. Adults selected for
interviews had either a child in primary school or were
non-parents who worked with children aged 1014 years.
Results (secondary data)

In the DRC in general, the rate of girls primary school
enrolment is very close to that of boys. In Kimilolo
ADP, girls enrolment is almost as high as boys but
this may be because girls are more frequently selected
for inclusion in WVs sponsorship programmes that
help families pay for school (see Table 2). However,
enrolment is still only at about half what it should be
and drops dramatically for girls in secondary school.
the study participants are aware of the extra burden that

girls bear.
Girls interviews and focus group
This study was carried out at a time when significant
progress has been made in girls enrolment as a result of
several awareness campaigns on girls education.
Of 40 girl respondents, 15 were included in a focus
group, while the remaining 25 were interviewed
individually. All the girls included in the study were in
grade six, the last year of primary school. Fifteen of the
girls go to school in the afternoon, 10 in the morning,
and the remaining 15 attend school both in the
morning and afternoon with a weekly rotation. Three of
the girls will repeat the year as their performances were
below 50% overall, 10 passed with an average of 60%
and above, three of the girls performances were above
70%, and 21 will graduate with an average of 54%. All
but one of the girls have brothers.
Prudence is an orphan who lives with her grandmother, Jeanne, in one of World Vision DRCs Area
Development Programmes. War has torn my family apart, says Jeanne. If not for World Vision, how
could I take her to school? Shes been very sick three times. How could I take her to the hospital?
photo: Lisa Jolly/World Vision
In the DRC, children are admitted into the upper grade

when they have earned scores of at least 55% in all
major courses such mathematics, reading, writing, and
speaking, and when they have earned average scores in
the remaining courses such as ethics, hygiene, music
and drawing. This is the standard for private and public
schools. It is encouraging to note that according to the
government data, girls perform equally as well as boys
within these standard measures. Data from schools where
WV is involved indicate again that girls perform nearly as
well as boys in these required areas (see Table 3).
Ten girls reported waking up at 5am every morning

and 30 others at 6am. The respondents reported that
their daily duties include: sweeping, cleaning the house,
fetching water, doing the dishes twice a day, buying
groceries, cooking, serving meals to help their mothers,
washing clothes for all the family and bathing their young
siblings. They also do other household chores requested
by the parents, especially their mothers, go to school,
come back and start working again at home. At the end
of the day they may chat a little bit or take a rest, then
study for an hour in the evening if there is electricity.
Results (primary data)
Their brothers go to school, stay home or choose to visit

their friends, play football with friends, study if they
want to, are served their breakfast or lunch, then rest.
Five out of 40 girls said that their brothers sometimes
The following table shows the number of respondents

by category and their awareness of girls household
responsibilities. From this table it is clear that most of
Groups
Number of
participants
Number of people aware Number of people unaware of

of girls daily chores
girls daily chores
girls
teachers & WV social
workers
women
40
28
40
20
0
8
52
52
men
20
15
boys
10
total
150
131
19
Table 4: Case study findings awareness of girls daily chores
19
Louise
Louise, a 13-year-old girl, has completed her
primary school. Louise is not very happy with her
life. She wakes up every day at six o clock, even
during the holidays. She does the washing up,
sweeps the house or does other requested duties until
11.30. Then she prepares herself for school.
At noon she leaves for school without any lunch. When
she comes back, she can eat or start preparing food.
After that she does dishes again then goes to fetch
water. Because of the crowd it can take up to three
or four hours to get water from the local borehole,
especially during the dry season. Then she carries
water home in the evening at around eight oclock.
At the end of the day Im exhausted and some days
I just sleep without practicing my lessons or even
drafting my homework, said Louise. I dont have
time to really go through my work before I submit
it. I was admitted in first secondary form only with
56% but Im sharp and could do better if I could
have more time to concentrate on my studies.
Even when I decide to read Im often interrupted
for other household chores. It is always my mother
who says she is very tired after selling in the market.
If I dont help my mother she will not have enough
time to earn money for our education.
I have three older brothers but they do nothing
to help. My sisters are young; two of them help me
sometimes with dishes but they are too young and
they enjoy playing.
help them to carry water containers from the boreholes
on their bicycles, when they want to give them a hand.
We dont have time to play, all girls in the focus group
agreed. If there is spare time, we do need a rest.
Girls also worried about accessing potable water. I wake
up early, around five, to get water before I go to school
but sometimes the queue is so long and women dont
give us priority, says a girl named Clementine. As we
have to go to school, we plea to have water just to wash
and leave our empty container there, go to school and
come back to the boreholes after class to queue again for
at least two and a half hours. WV is working to provide
water to improve the well-being of the children.
20
However, governments and communities must note

that even where there are taps, pipelines do not work
every day. This situation increases the burden on girls
and they often spend hours looking for safe water.
The large number of daily chores affects girls
performance at school since they have very little time,
or no time at all, left for homework.
I sometimes go to school without writing my
homework, says Louise. Sometimes even during
exams period I just read on my way to school.
I prepare my homework for one hour but sometimes
Im so exhausted that I find myself dozing or sleeping
on my notebooks; but I have no choice, says another
girl, Carine.
Boys interviews and focus group
Among the 10 boys who participated in the focus group
discussion, six showed no interest in what their sisters
do and report that they spend all their days playing with
their friends. They only come home for meals or to get
ready for school.
All of the boys usually spend one hour preparing for
their class lessons, devoting two hours when they have
homework or when they are preparing for a test or
exam. Otherwise, most of them spend their spare time
playing.
Only four boys reported helping their sisters to fetch
water or go to the market to buy food. All of them think
it is the duty of girls to do household chores. They have
nothing to do with those duties. The four boys who help
their sisters think that it is not really an obligation for
them but they do it when their sisters are overloaded.
Jean says, When we wake up in the morning, I wash,
have my breakfast and go to school; my sisters sweep
and clean the house, do the washing up, wash our
young sibling, prepare our breakfast, wash themselves
and go to school. When they come back they help
Mummy to cook or do some laundry, fetch water, have
their meal and start studying.
Ngoy admits, I dont help my sisters because whenever
I tried, my friends laughed at me. It is their duty to get
water from boreholes, prepare food and help Mummy
with the house chores.
Nine-year-old Joe says, I have no sister and my mother

would like me to sweep every day and fetch water for
her, and buy food at the market sometimes. But I have
time to play, rest and prepare my tests every day. No
one laughs at me because they know I have no sister.
teach their daughters how to do the work. Most of their

days are spent sitting and chatting with friends. These
mothers did not receive an education and, in turn, often
do not value the education of their daughters; they do
not recognise childrens right to education.
Teachers and World Vision staff

interviews and focus group
Among the teachers and WV staff interviewed who work
with WV-sponsored children, 20 were men and eight
were women. They recognise that, in general, girls in
the community are hard workers and very committed to
their education. However, most were surprised to see the
shift in terms of final performance at the end of the year.
Even for mothers who believe that their children need to

be educated to thrive, their childrens education is often
compromised because of the heavy burden placed on
their daughters. For women who are employed to work
outside the home, their daughters do all the work at
home.
Teachers and WV staff say that girls normally do well

in class interaction and on all assignments given in the
classroom immediately after teaching new material.
However, when tested two weeks later or during
examination sessions, they often fail when compared
to their male counterparts. Their academic ability is
hindered when required to study outside the classroom,
since they have no free time like the boys.
This group of teachers and NGO workers do recognise
that local girls are overloaded with household duties.
In their own homes, 20 of the respondents, including
the eight women, reported trying to create rest time
for girls. This is in spite of the fact that their own
daughters have the same tasks on their daily agenda as
the standard list created by the girl respondents.
The women blame the government for not paying

civil servants enough wages and for not providing
job opportunities for their husbands. They find it
unpleasant for a woman to leave her home at five in
the morning and return when children are already in
bed, especially as the fathers are casual labourers or go
to farms just so the family may survive. When the men
are home, they do not help with the housework but
normally chat with their friends or gather somewhere
for local beer, listening to the news or music.
The mothers know that their daughters do not have
enough time to practice what they learn at school and
they see the consequences, but offer no solution. They
In general, it is considered normal for girls to work

hard and to find the time for their study if they want
to do well. Teachers reported that an incentive or
reward for girls, such as a scholarship at primary level,
could also motivate parents to help their girls to find
more study time.
Womens interviews and focus group
The womens group was very proud to describe the
initiative they are taking to help their daughters become
successful women. Of the 52 female participants, three
are employees, 20 run small businesses at the market
and the rest (29) are housewives. A common feature
they all shared was that in their homes children all do
exactly the things described by the girls group.
Those women who stay home do not help with
household work because they assume that their role is to
Girls in the DRC often queue for hours to collect water for their families.
photo: Leigh-Anne Havemann/World Vision
21
believe and accept that this is a common fight at every

level. At the same time, because of the strong cultural
traditions, they will never split the household tasks
among all the children. Only 10 of the 52 women (less
than 20%) believe that their sons should help carry
water if there is a bicycle.
Mens interviews and focus group
The men expressed views that also confirmed what
the girls shared. Of the 10 men in the group, two
were widowers and one was divorced, and seven were
educated men who completed their secondary school,
two of which had a university diploma. These highereducated men were married, employed and reported
that all the children of their household are involved in
chores. The remaining three confessed that they do not
know what their daughters do nor do they know about
the division of work at home. Our responsibility is to
find some job in town as we are casual labourers. We are
responsible for the survival of our family, they said.
These men do not acknowledge the fact that their
daughters are also responsible for survival through
providing water and food. Such a statement makes
them laugh: We are so surprised to hear you, what
kind of woman are you? Dont you know that girls and
women should do that but it cant count for family
survival? They are just showing that they have been well
initiated to social life and marriage. They report that
most of the time they only come home at midnight or
11pm at the earliest.
For them, the government is responsible for the lack
of work and creating a situation where each member
of the family has to struggle to survive, including girls.
Another man said, Women are the ones who ask girls
to do many chores, so they are perpetuating their own
childhood. Whenever I tried to help her, even to set
the table, my wife reminds me that it is her duty. I
am concerned about the change of attitude of women
themselves as they contribute mostly to that situation.
Childrens rights
Some of the men interviewed argued that, indirectly,
the government is responsible for what is happening to
girls education. To some degree they are right.
The government of the DRC is a signatory to the
international Convention on the Rights of Child.
With respect to girls rights, this convention has been
22
Oh my school, I love my school. Carine and Clementine, both 10 years old, from a school in Kimilolo.
Education is a vital aspect of World Visions work in the DRC.
photo: Leigh-Anne Havemann/World Vision
violated in the DRC; articles 3 and 29 promote the best

interest and protection of the child in all actions, as well
as provide the framework for childrens education to
contribute to the full development of the child.12
The examples in this paper indicate that girls best
interests are often ignored in the family: they do not
have enough time to prepare for lessons, to play and to
rest because of their family chores. The full potential
development of girls is at risk when they are overloaded
with household chores.
Parents in the DRC seem unprepared to protect and
provide for the development of their girl children,
therefore the government is advised to undertake
measures to ensure childrens well-being and protection
within the family, in accordance with article 3 of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The DRC government should undertake measures and
set up a monitoring system to show their commitment
to protecting children against all kinds of violence
within and outside the family, including abuses against
girls health, education and full development, as stated
in the DRC constitution, articles 41 and 42.13
The states obligation to disseminate information and

teach people the constitution, and all other conventions
related to human rights (as mandated in the DRC constitution, article 45:6 14) is currently not being fully upheld
and the state must emphasise womens rights, as well as
childrens rights and human rights, in order to do so.
Finally, article 47 of the DRC constitution describes
citizens rights to shelter, access to safe water and
electricity.15 Yet, within the new district there is no water
and many places have had no electricity for months.
The lack of electricity is a challenge for girls who
normally find time to do homework at night or evening
and cant afford to buy a candle. The lack of water costs
them three to four hours per day.
The DRCs constitution describes the commitment
of the state to protect children, yet discrimination
against girls remains firmly entrenched in the culture
and mindsets of the majority of Congolese men and
women. Most are trapped in traditional thinking
about gender roles that prevent them from considering
positive alternatives.
Yet, however difficult, change is possible. Just as
campaigns to encourage the enrolment of girls in
school have borne fruit over time, so too we can hope
that campaigns to equalise household chores among
all children and adults may change behaviours over
time. This change will take a concerted effort by many
stakeholders.
Recommendations
Most girls in the DRC have no leisure time or time
for homework. They need both for their overall wellbeing and to develop intellectually. The lack of access
to safe water and electricity exacerbates the problem
and hinders the progress of children at school. Yet
the cultural traditions perpetuated by families, and
especially women, delay gender equity and continue to
hurt and discriminate against girls. All people need to
be liberated from these harmful traditional practices.
The articles mentioned above from the Convention on the
Rights of the Child and the DRC constitution provide an
advocacy framework through which the state can act, and
citizens and the UN can hold the state accountable.
The DRC and the international community are in
agreement that the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals is crucial to the empowerment of

girls and the eradication of poverty. Strong efforts must
be made so that the targets are attained.
World Vision recommends that the government:

1. Promote human rights, childrens rights
and gender equity through school curricula
and encourage boys and girls to challenge
harmful traditional roles and adopt healthy,
equitable relationships.
2. Educate adults about childrens rights,
their own human rights, the international
Convention on the Rights of the Child,
the African Charter, the DRC national
constitution and other binding agreements
that are set up to improve the well-being of
children, through government-sponsored
campaigns, community meetings and special
training for illiterate women and men.
3. Prioritise education in an effort to effectively
apply the international Convention on
the Rights of the Child. Commit at least
20% of national budget to education to
ensure free, quality primary education
for all; scholarships should be available to
motivate and enable students to continue
their education. The UN must support
national efforts with additional funding
and accountability mechanisms through the
DRCs time of transition.
4. Review and budget for electricity and water
distribution plans to enable girls to gain
some time for their studies.
5. Raise awareness of the need for girls to have
time to play and build fun time in to the
school curriculum for the development of
their intelligence and overall well-being.
Encourage parents to provide the time for
girls to play and rest. Encourage girls clubs,
recreation and learning opportunities after
class at school or at church, and create parks
and libraries to provide easy access to leisure
time and places.
6. Engage men and boys in all public state
institutions, and via civil society (including
faith communities, private organisations and
NGOs) to create gender parity especially with
concern for the division of the household
chores.
23
7. Set up a system to protect children and

monitor violence within and outside the
family and abuses against girls health,
education, and full development, as stated in
the DRC constitution, articles 41 and 42.16
www
by Frieda Mwebe, Child Protection, Gender & Advocacy
Coordinator, World Vision Democratic Republic of Congo
1. UNDP, Human Development Report 1998; 1998. http://hdr.undp.org/reports/

global/1998/en/pdf/hdr_1998_ch1.pdf This ranking has since worsened; in
2006, the country had an HDI ranking of 167, see: http://hdr.undp.org/
hdr2006/statistics/
2. Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, The Impact of Armed Conflict
on Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), New York, NY; 2003.
http://www.watchlist.org/reports/dr_congo.report.php
3. UNICEF, Technical Meeting on Partnering the UN Girls Education Initiative to
Intensify Progress towards Gender Equality in Education; 2002. http://www.
unesco.org/education/news_en/210101_background.shtml
4. Save the Children, Rewrite the future: Democratic Republic of Congo Briefing,
redbarnet.net.dynamicweb.dk/Admin/Public/DWSDownload.aspx?File=F
iles%2FFiler%2FKrig_Katastrofer%2FDRC.pdf ; UNICEF statistics; 2006.
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/drcongo_statistics.html accessed on 30
October, 2006.
5. UNICEF statistics. op. cit.
6. Worth Program, Pact DRC, 2005.
7. RDC Kinshasa, Document de la Stratgie de la Croissance et de la Rduction de
la Pauvret (DSCRP); July 2006.
8. Democratic Republic of Congo, Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper,
March 2002. http://www.imf.org/external/np/prsp/2002/cod/01/033102.pdf
9. Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, Struggling to Survive : Children
in Armed Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; 2006. http://www.
watchlist.org/reports/dr_congo.report.20060426.php?p=12
10. Statistics Department of the Lubumbashi Maire Office Schools statistics
Annual Report 2005, 2006. (Kimilolo is the geographical area that includes
three districts (Kafubu. Bongonga and Kampemba) where World Vision DRC
is running community development activities.
11. World Vision Kimilolo Annual Report FY 2005. (The term did well refers to
those who succeeded.)
12. United Nations, Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1990. http://www.ohchr.
org/english/law/pdf/crc.pdf
13. Constitution de la Rpublique Dmocratique du Congo, 2005. http://www.presidentrdc.cd/constitution.html
14. ibid.
15. ibid.
16. ibid.
24
Challenges facing

institutionalised girls in
Armenia
World Vision Armenia
t is estimated that 68 million children live in some

form of institutional or residential care worldwide.1 In Armenia, national legislation encourages the
reintegration of institutionalised children into society
and families. Despite these admirable and necessary
intentions, unfortunately, an estimated 14,500
children are in special institutions.2 The term special
institution refers to both the institutions for children
with disabilities and special needs, as well as the shelters
for abandoned children or those without parental care.
A survey conducted by the Ministry of Labour and
Social Insurance (MLSI) in cooperation with UNICEF
in 2004 found that girls make up 47% of the children
in Armenian state orphanages.3 Instances of abuse and
violence in institutions are very common and children
are often trapped in a cycle of institutionalisation that
severely damages their ability to function in society.
Over half of these children were placed in institutions
because of economic problems in their families and
a lack of adequate social and economic safety nets.
Additionally, children are institutionalised because of
the inability of the traditional schooling system to cope
with children who have special needs or behavioural
difficulties. Communication links between parents and
these children are sometimes permanently broken due
to the lack of resources. While most children keep some
ties to their families and around 60% of children visit
their families on the weekends, reintegration causes
friction and is difficult. Economic hardship and social
vulnerability have created a cycle where children are put
into unsustainable, under-funded institutions with no
mechanisms to be reunified with their families, even
though Armenian legislation encourages reintegration.
it maintained one of the lowest rates of institutionalised

children in the Soviet Union. The situation radically
changed in the late 80s and in the 90s with the Spitak
Earthquake in 1988, the ongoing Karabagh conflict,
and an economic blockade accompanied by the
transition of political, social and economic systems. In
response to widespread unemployment, many parents
emigrated to work in Russia and other nations, leaving
their children in institutions where the quality of
services progressively deteriorated.
The programmes of residential institutions do not
provide children with special care, vocational training or
life skills. They do not support childrens reintegration
into mainstream society or strengthen their connections
with their parents or extended biological families. Most
state institutions in Armenia have no social worker or
psychologist to support children and their families.
These factors, accompanied by a lack of housing, have
created an ongoing childrens crisis. All residential care
institutions are detrimental to children when they
reside on a permanent basis outside of a family-based
environment (articles 8 and 9 of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child).4
Institutional care in Armenia

For centuries, Armenian society was characterised by
the predominance of family values and, in Soviet times,
Children outside a neighbourhood school that is inclusive of children with special needs because of
World Visions assistance in providing training, psychologists and social workers.
photo: Jon Warren/World Vision
25
Although many children are sent to institutions because

of specific educational needs, there are no special
programmes for them there, and none to help them
reintegrate into public education. Globally, according
to estimates by the World Health Organization, 98%
of children with disabilities never receive an education
and UNESCO estimates only 1% of girls with
disabilities are literate.5 The fact that institutions do not
accommodate these childrens special educational needs
contributes to these dismal statistics, which also reflect
the reality in Armenia.
A high dependency produced by living in a total
institution without developing self-sufficiency does
not prepare children for life outside of the institution.
The real consequences of such inadequate preparation
and care become evident when adolescents leave.
The ongoing absence of parental care deepens their
vulnerability at this time. A childs crisis does not end
when she leaves; all the vulnerabilities and deficiencies
she may have acquired follow her into the outside
world. Thus, the most vulnerable life period for these
young girls continues during their years of adaptation,
from 18 to 25 years of age.
Common problems faced by

girl children leaving institutions
The typical problems of all institutionalised children are
doubled for girls. Many factors contribute to this but
primarily it is the negative cultural attitudes towards
women and girls that hurt them.
In general, all institutionalised children are
stigmatised; girls are often stereotyped and labelled
as prostitutes and with no morals. Consequently,
their chances for marriage are lower than other
girls, and institutionalised girls often marry
institutionalised boys who face similar challenges
or someone else who is at high risk of being a poor
partner for life.
Girls in general are perceived as housekeepers and
babysitters, both by their parents and society at large,
with few opportunities for careers. The administrative
and educational staff of residential institutions also
share and demonstrate these attitudes; they do not
encourage the continuation of girls studies for higher
education. As a consequence, many girls leaving
institutions end up as poorly paid servants, without
work, or in vulnerable or risky situations.
Girl children face the reality of having to provide for
26
themselves immediately upon leaving the institution.

With no education, shelter, life skills or any kind of
supervision, they may be trapped into prostitution,
begging and theft. Their lack of life skills is usually
accompanied by psychological vulnerability, often
putting them at risk of being trafficked to other
countries.
The absence of life skills and basic knowledge of
reproductive health issues makes girls vulnerable to
early pregnancies, thus increasing the number of
single mother families.
Even if girl children have shelter after leaving the
institutions, they frequently are excluded from
society. The discriminative attitude of neighbours
and lack of social networks decrease their social
protection. Without this social capital they are alone
in this severe reality.
World Vision Armenias child

protection programme
World Vision (WV) came to Armenia in response to
the devastating earthquake of December 1988. In the
following years, our projects have gone beyond meeting
the demands of crisis situations to changing the quality
of life in entire communities and helping Armenians
to restore their country. WV currently implements
Area Development Programmes in various sectors
of Armenia, through educational, health and microfinancing programmes.
In April 2004, WV Armenia started to implement
the Children in Especially Difficult Circumstances
(CEDC) programme to tackle the ongoing crisis
faced by vulnerable children both inside or at risk of
entering institutions. The programme is focused on
the prevention of child abandonment, the inclusion of
children in need of special protection into society, and
the protection of the rights and well-being of children
in three residential institutions.
Believing that a healthy family environment is the best
place for children to grow up, WV continues to focus
on strengthening families and communities to care
for their own children. Our development activities
that focus on food security, health, micro-enterprise
development and education for vulnerable children
(including children with disabilities) and their families
are critical for the prevention of abandonment and
placement in institutions.
Residential care, however, is sometimes a last resort. So

while WV believes that every child should live in families
or in sustainable communities, our work with institutions
is essential to protect children from abuse and to provide
a basis for the de-institutionalisation of children. The aim
must always be for these children to return to the family
safely or be placed in a foster family or a family-like
environment such as small group homes. This can take
some time depending on each situation.
The objectives of WV Armenia and other NGOs
should be to ultimately make institutions obsolete,
by involving families in the education and services
in these residential care institutions, initiating foster
care, finding child-friendly solutions, and safely deinstitutionalising children as quickly as possible.
WV Armenia takes an individualised approach
towards each child in the CEDC programme. Every
child admitted into the programme undergoes a
multidisciplinary assessment by a team of specialists
including a neurologist, psychiatrist, senior social
worker, lawyer, psychologist, and pediatrician. The

team creates an Individual Development Plan (IDP)
for each child and implements a regular monitoring
system for the child and family. The specialists and
teachers, as well as parents, participate in the process
of creating the IDP and work towards such goals as
solving shelter problems, finding jobs for parents, and
encouraging parents to solve problems themselves. The
de-institutionalisation process requires the involvement
and participation of parents as well as the child, who
is empowered to have a voice in her own personal
development plan.
De-institutionalisation requires a stable family home
environment with biological or foster parents, where
parents do not abuse alcohol or drugs, childrens rights
are not violated, and parents set good examples for their
children. For reintegration to be successful, the parents,
extended family or foster home should offer appropriate
conditions for a child, a sufficient income to provide
for the childs needs, and the willingness to take the
child into the home. Since living in the family and in an
institution are so different, families and children need
counselling. Successful de-institutionalisation requires
an adapted legal framework and governmental support
for community-based centres where vulnerable families
can apply for psychological, legal, and social support.
Case study: Vardashen
The case of Vardashen is an excellent example of the need

for support when integrating these girls into society, and
the obstacles to de-institutionalisation.6 It is a success
story for the application of new policies in Armenia.
The Republican Special Educational Complex #1
(Vardashen), located in Erebuni district of Yerevan, is a
public institution under the Ministry of Education and
Science (MOES). Since 1997, Mdicins Sans Frontires
(MSF) also known as Doctors Without Borders has
worked with the staff of Vardashen to improve the
quality of life for the children in residence there. This
programme was handed over to WV Armenia in 2004
and we have continued to work to de-institutionalise
these children while preparing them for mainstream
society. While Vardashen is a very different place than
it was before 1997, the problems and challenges of the
institution are typical of others.
Sponsored child Mariam, 10, holds a stuffed toy donated by a visitor. Benefits of sponsorship include
schooling, feeding programmes and medical care.
The Vardashen institution has a constant occupancy of

7595 children, most of whom were found roaming
27
the streets, begging or were abandoned by their parents.

As with most institutions, about 99% of the children
come from very poor families, many headed by single
mothers. These families have poor shelter and are
unemployed or have low incomes. They represent
the most vulnerable groups in society with minimal
education and few professional skills. Their dire
circumstances often drive parents to begging, knowing
they will be more successful receiving alms with their
children at their sides.
Residents of Vardashen include children who:
need special care for education;
are neglected, lack education and, due to deprivation
of parental care and supervision, were mostly engaged
in begging and vagrancy;
are at immediate risk of abuse (physical or
psychological); and
are under 16, and have committed relatively minor
crimes or infringements and are placed in the
institutions by court decision.
Throughout their work, MSF encountered numerous
instances of institutional violence and abuse, including
cruel discipline, sexual abuse, lack of medical and social
care, and a lack of recreational activities for children.
Fortunately, the most serious instances and systematic
uses of violence no longer occur.
Education
The issue of quality primary education still remains
a problem at Vardashen. Psychologists working with
the institutionalised children stated that the level of
educational knowledge of Vardashen children is much
lower than children in mainstream schools.
Unfortunately, this low quality education system is
typical of residential institutions in Armenia because of
the following factors:
There is a lack of a specialised programmes and
teaching materials for children with special
educational needs.
Qualified and skilled staff are not willing to teach
in a special school like Vardashen. Although the
teachers salary was increased by 50% in September
2005, it is still very low.
With the uncertainty of continuing education, and
knowing that they are likely to be rejected from
higher education, children are not motivated to
28
graduate with better marks.

Institutions are regarded as shelter rather
than school. With this attitude, the school
administration and educators have approached their
work differently and dont aim to provide knowledge.
It is very difficult to teach these children with the
same programmes and approaches as in mainstream
schools without supplementary assistance. An
individualised approach is missing.
Institution directors and staff often encourage
institutionalisation when counselling parents. In
Armenia, both the public and special schools are
financed by the MOES according to the number of
children and this presents a conflict of interest for
the staff who receive a financial gain for every child
placed in the institution.
Education of institutionalised girl children

According to the UN, in 2004 the literacy rate in
Armenia for girls and young women aged 1524 was
99.9%, while boys and young men of the same age
had a literacy rate of 99.8%. While these indicators
are to be celebrated as evidence of Armenias work to
give children access to education, there are no official
statistics on children with disabilities.
The combination of the low quality of education offered
at Vardashen and the low social status of families of
institutionalised children has limited the education of
children over the age of 15. In the last three years, of the
102 graduates, only five boys continued their education
in specialised technical colleges; not one student went
on to higher education.
Although girls in Vardashen often expressed a desire to
learn a vocation, not one has continued her education.
Many survey their future options and find no hope.
As a consequence, there are high numbers of early
marriages and early pregnancies for institutionalised
girls, keeping these young mothers at home caring
for their children and families. Early marriages and
pregnancies in turn become an obstacle for the
continuation of education.
Often, Vardashens personnel encourage the early
marriages of their girl students. One of the teachers
stated: It is better for them they are safer and it is
less possible for them to choose the wrong way in their
life, and they will not become prostitutes.
In reality, marriage and motherhood are not real

safeguards against prostitution or other forms of
exploitation and abuse.
The government-hired staff of the institution have
strong negative attitudes towards girl children in
Vardashen, convinced that all girls who demonstrate
weak control will become prostitutes. This weak
control is only a manifestation of the lack of love,
instruction, structure and empowerment in the girls
environment. Staff would prefer the girls under the
control of husbands rather than free to possibly
make poor decisions. This attitude is common
among Armenian society and influences the choices
and options of young women. It demonstrates how
important it is for girls to be empowered to make
healthy life decisions and become agents of their own
development, rather than relying on others.
The same gender inequality generally exists within
families and the Armenian society as a whole.
Stereotypical attitudes towards womens and mens
social roles still exist such as women being subordinate
to men. Thus, with limited resources and limited access
to those resources, parents would prefer to educate
their sons than their daughters. Generally, boys are
seen as future householders, main income generators,
and as the hope and support of their parents. The
perceived role of women is to care for a family and
raise children. A woman is not encouraged as a leader
in the family or community, hence, girls high marks
in school do not ensure their higher education. These
attitudes also contribute to the fact that Armenia has
the lowest percentage of female parliamentarians of any
country in Europe.
When girl children do receive higher education they are
often guided towards pedagogic schools where the tuition is less than that of universities. These discriminative
approaches of parents and society, beginning with early
childhood, feed the cycle of gender inequality in adult
social roles.
World Vision Armenias

response
MSF supported Vardashen staff from 1997 to 2004
to set up educational and recreational activities for
children, provide medical and psychological care
and maintain contact between the children and their
families, aiding the process of social reintegration.7
The objectives of WV Armenia and other NGOs should be to ultimately make institutions obsolete.
Every child should live in families or in sustainable communities; the aim must always be for children
to return to the family safely or be placed in a foster family or a family-like environment.
photo: World Vision
WV Armenia has built on these achievements by

continuing to identify and change the dysfunctional
elements of the institution. The combined efforts of
MSF, WV and the Armenian authorities have gradually
transformed the disciplinary methods and living
conditions in Vardashen. The repressive approach has
been replaced with an educational one through helping
staff to develop alternative ways of dealing with conflicts
and regulating community life.
Reuniting families
Similar to teenagers in prison, Vardashens children
were not permitted to visit their homes and relatives
in the past. Today, after nine years of MSF and WV
work, more of these children visit their families on
weekends and during the holidays, with WV providing
transportation.
Gradually, the institution has opened up to families and
the outside world. Family members are permitted to
visit daily. Every week they have individual and support
group meetings with specialists. The parents contact
strengthens relationships and they become more willing
to care for their own children. Psychological support,
social work and legal services are further developed
29
within the institution to improve family relations with

the end goal of uniting families and de-institutionalising
children.
Education and training

To improve the educational and recreational activities
of the children, WV organises various capacity building
activities both for children and educators, designed
to introduce innovative teaching methods and foster
critical thinking in students. A special course on the
prevention of child abuse and neglect was organised
for the staff and educators of Vardashen. The children
attended and continue to attend several non-formal
training sessions on childrens rights, sexual education,
age development, health and related topics.
WV Armenia has emphasised vocational training
opportunities by organising clubs to provide learning,
life skills and play opportunities for the children
living in institutions and those at risk of being
institutionalised. Activities such as swimming, horse
riding, sewing, theatre, shoe making, circus, art,
fashion, and ceramic classes were initiated in the
community, so that Vardashens children can socialise
outside the institution, learning with other community
children and students of secondary schools. Vardashens
football team now competes with the teams of special
and secondary schools. These interactions are crucial for
integration.
As part of life skills training, childrens clubs meet

together and visit museums, higher educational
institutions, historical monuments and other cultural
institutions to encourage social development and
to help them reflect on integration and life outside
the institution. Visits to work places and vocational
possibilities are planned to raise the childrens interest
towards work in general and to help them make better
choices in the future. Meanwhile, we plan to connect
with labour and recruitment agencies for the childrens
job placements when they leave the institution. All
activities are supported that help prepare children for
life outside. While we work to return students to their
families, we also work to ensure they can adjust to
mainstream society.
Focusing on girls
To break the discrimination and inequitable cycles
that damage the girl childs future, WV Armenia in
the framework of its child protection programmes
raises awareness of the disadvantages of early marriage
and early sexual relations, through regular training
sessions and the distribution of printed materials on
reproductive health. These are also aimed at helping
girls avoid abuse that is too often encountered in such
institutions. In collaboration with a local partner NGO,
Family Health Association, a new project has been
undertaken to provide youth-friendly medical services,
including counselling, to Vardashen children.
The early marriages hinder vocational training
or recruitment into jobs. Only one girl out of all
Vardashens graduates currently has a permanent job,
compared to 23 boys. Without jobs, the girls either
live with their parents, marry or find themselves in
vulnerable situations. Some end up on the streets
without shelter. Girls need the assistance of labour
and recruitment agencies to find jobs after leaving
institutions, as well as support for social services
to be able to receive government stipends. High
unemployment, ignorance of available social services,
and the lack of life skills present significant challenges
for girl children seeking work.
Innovative teaching methods help to improve the educational and recreational activities of children.
photo: World Vision
30
WVs policy and ultimate goal, like that of the Armenian

government, is the de-institutionalisation of every child.
Much work still needs to be done. The daily lives of the
children in Vardashen have improved, but their future
remains compromised by the lack of resources and
openness, as well as deeply-ingrained social prejudices.
The state and NGOs need to collaborate to initiate

action at several levels.
World Vision recommends that the government:

1. Develop and adopt specific educational
programmes in special institutions for:
children engaged in begging and vagrancy
who have dropped out of schools because of
neglect and lack of parental care; and
children under 16 who have committed relatively minor crimes or infringements and are
placed in the institutions by court decision.
2. Develop high-quality specialised educational
materials for schools for children with
disabilities and children in especially difficult
circumstances. Curricula should apply life
skills development, literary, numeracy, finance
management, family budgeting, health
education, reproductive health and family
planning education, vocational training,
and encourage the pursuit of education and
careers, promoting opportunities through
examples and mentors.
3. Allocate funds from the state budget to
develop manuals and regular training for
teachers working in special institutions.
The training should include a knowledge
of childrens rights, child-oriented teaching
methods (such as active learning and child
participation), counselling, and promoting
the de-institutionalisation of children.
4. Create a regular accreditation programme of
high standards for teachers working in special
institutions and strengthen the traditional
schooling system to cope with children who
have special needs or behavioural difficulties.
5. The Ministry of Health should establish
youth-friendly and child-friendly health
services within communities and ensure
access for children in institutions.
6. Ensure girls and women have access to social
services after they graduate from institutions
and special schools. This may require
scholarships, internships, organising job fairs
and establishing initiatives and programmes
to encourage and create incentives for
private sector enterprises to gainfully
employ young people coming out of special
institutions.
7. Raise public awareness through events and

mass media to highlight problems of children
in especially difficult circumstances and the
need for gender equality from early childhood.
8. Organise regular training on the Convention
on the Rights of the Child for children
and parents of institutionalised children.
Work with parents to develop a rightsbased approach to parenting, build gender
equality and introduce new parenting skills,
including non-violent forms of discipline
that will enable children to develop selfconfidence and a will to achieve.
9. Support the formation of community-based
abuse prevention activities including the
formation of child protection committees,
mentoring and monitoring programmes,
provision of day care centres for children of
working parents, and psychological, legal
and social support to families.
10. Raise awareness of the great potential of girls
and women to contribute to the economic
and social advancement of the country.
www
by Kristine Mikhailidi, Sector Operations Manager
with World Vision Armenia, and Mary Ellen Chatwin,
Child Development/Protection Advisor with the Child
Protection Programs Team for Middle East and Eastern
Europe, World Vision International; with Marina
Hovhannisyan, Child Protection Programmes (CPP)
Manager, Artur Martirosyan, CPP Policy Officer,
Anahit Grigoryan, CPP Coordinator, and Anna
Aleksanyan, CPP Senior Social Worker, World Vision
Armenia
1. Save the Children Denmark, Position paper on children not living with the biological family, 2005. http://www.redbarnet.dk/Default.aspx?ID=6083&M=Shop&P
ID=15083&ProductID=650
2. National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia; 2005. http://www.
armstat.am/
3. Ministry of Labour & Social Insurance of RoA in cooperation with UNICEF,
by Armine Tanashyan, A survey on the situation of the children in Armenias state
orphanages and their parents, prepared by the Yerevan; 2004. p 24
4. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; 1990. http://www.unhchr.
ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm
5. DFID, Disability, poverty and development, 2000. http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Pubs/
files/disability.pdf p 3
6. The case study is based on two focus group discussions with the
institutionalised children, one focus group discussion with the institutions
staff, in-depth interviews with 12 children from institutions and 5 staff
members (including the schools director).
7. MSF Armenia Symposium on Children in difficulty in Armenia: their protection
and their future, Yerevan; 25 September 2003.
31
Commercial sexual
exploitation:
one of the worst forms of violence

against the Indian girl child
World Vision India
here is an age-old belief that a women must be

in her fathers shadow during childhood, her
husbands in her youth, and her sons in her old age.
Her role is dictated by numerous male actors around
her. Over time, the attitudes, values, behaviours and
culture of nations have been moulded to perpetuate and
condition the girl child to perform her submissive role.
This patriarchal structure has combined with the ills
of globalisation and liberalisation and given rise to
numerous problems for women in India and especially
our most vulnerable citizens: girl children. Female
feticide and infanticide are the result of such negative
forces, and have produced the sex ratio imbalance across
the nation of India.
There has been much progress made by the stakeholders
of civil society in India for the protection of the human
rights of the girl child and to curb the contemporary
form of slavery known as commercial sexual
exploitation. The government of India supports a childs
right not to be used in sexual exploitation and has
taken legal action to protect children. Yet the problem
is pervasive and deeply rooted in tradition and culture
and therefore requires redress from all angles and the
support of the government, NGOs, civil society and the
international community.
According to the annual publication of the National
Crime Record Bureau, the sexual abuse of children
in India is a growing and disturbing phenomenon.
In response in part to commercialisation, children,
especially young girls, are being sold and trafficked
across state and transnational boundaries for the
purpose of prostitution and child pornography.1
The US Department of State estimated in 2004 that
there were 500,000 commercially sexually exploited
32
children nation-wide in India and at least 2.3 million

girls and women believed to be in the Indian sex
industry.2 Sex tourism is widespread.3
The prostitution of children is flourishing not only
in Asia but all around the world. Girl children are
abducted, sold and coerced into the sex industry. The
commercial sexual abuse of children has become a highly
profitable activity of organised crime rings. Commercial
sexual exploitation has become a global plague and
is found in varying intensity among both developed
and developing nations. It is one of the worst forms of
violence and discrimination suffered by the girl child.
Experts world-wide blame poverty as a key factor
responsible for the sexual abuse of children. However,
other demand and supply factors play a significant role
in the creation and aggravation of the problem.
The basis of this exploitation is the unequal power
and economic balance between a girl child and a
male adult. Patriarchy often dictates the sexual and
economic relationships of a society. This is true in India
where many of the rituals, practices and customs are
gender biased and discriminatory and yet sanctioned
by religious forces and authorities. Many of the
harmful religious traditions place girls and women in
a subservient position, degrade their status, and result
in sexual exploitation. In India, the religious tradition
of Devadasi (where girls are dedicated as temple
prostitutes) violates the dignity of women and girls
and turns them into economic commodities instead of
human beings.
Failure of traditional safety nets (including the
breakdown of the traditional family), migration,
superstition, rituals, cultural practices, and beliefs, make
girl children more vulnerable to sexual exploitation.
Prostitution and the girl child

There has been a great demand for prostituted girls
due to various factors like the fear of diseases including
HIV, prevailing cultural perceptions that sex with a
girl child provides strength, girls profitability and
greater earning potential, the fact that girls can be easily
lured in the name of marriage and easily suppressed
and manipulated, and finally the cultural support for
practices like the Devadasi tradition.
Prostituted girls under the age of 18 are deprived of
their childhoods and education and suffer exploitation,
discrimination, and the worst forms of violence. While
girls face even greater vulnerability, exploitation and
deprivation than adult women in the commercial sex
trade, it is significant to note that most adult female
sex workers4 begin before the age of 18.
The sex trade has adverse effects on girl childrens health
leading to many physical problems, including diseases
(like skin diseases, tuberculosis, HIV, and sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs)), aches, pain, various types
of uterine infection, and vaginal injuries, which later
combined with STDs can create problem in conception.
Most of the women and girls used in the sex trade are
physically abused and beaten, raped and even killed.5
Prostitution also causes long-term damage to their
psycho-social, spiritual and emotional well-being. Girls
in prostitution suffer post-traumatic stress disorder,
depression, humiliation, rejection, anxiety, suicidal
tendencies, shame, guilt, and live in fear and pain.
Twelve-year-old Thirupathammas parents both died of AIDS in 2005. Her two younger siblings are both
HIV-positive. She does not go to school but spends her days sifting through garbage for recyclables,
a practice known as rag picking. Experts world-wide say poverty is a key factor responsible for the
sexual abuse of children.
photo: Sheryl Nadler/World Vision
who have been abused. Three of the eight goals call for
children everywhere, boys and girls alike, to be able
to complete a full course of primary and secondary
schooling, for gender equity and the empowerment
of women, and to have halted and begun to reverse
the spread of HIV and AIDS by 2015. These goals
cannot be accomplished without focusing on the sexual
exploitation of girls.
Indian national policies and laws
The threat of HIV for girls in the sex trade is very real
and serious. According to the National AIDS Control
Organization, an estimated 5.2 million people aged
1549 were living with HIV in India in 2005. The
UN Report on the global AIDS epidemic (2006) warns
the future size of Indias HIV epidemic will depend
particularly on the effectiveness of programmes for sex
workers and their clients, men who have sex with men
(and their other sexual partners), and injecting drug
users (and their sexual partners).6 The Indian sex trade
puts not only the girls at risk of HIV, but increases the
vulnerability of the entire nation.
Sexual abuse of children is unquestionably a violation of

basic human rights. The government of India supports
a childs right not to be used in sexual exploitation and
has taken action to protect children through adopting
international conventions like the Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC), constitutional provisions
like articles 21, 23 and 24 of the Indian Constitution
to Fundamental Rights, and domestic laws and policies
such as the National Policy for the Empowerment of
Women (2001), the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act
(1956), the Devadasis (Prohibition of Dedication) Act
(1982), the Criminal Procedure Code and the Juvenile
Justice Act (1986), to prevent and punish trafficking,
sexual exploitation, discrimination against the girl child
and the cultural practice of Devadasis.
To achieve the Millennium Development Goals,

adopted by world leaders as a global agenda for poverty
reduction, we must focus on the prevention of child
sexual exploitation and the restoration of children
However, crimes and human rights violations against

girls and women are often unreported. The reason for
non-reporting or under-reporting these crimes again lies
within the social structure. Incest persists and children
33
are too afraid to report their abusers because of a fear of

authority. Social stigma, concerns for inviting shame,
consequences of reporting the crime on the future of
the victim, and an inability to express and comprehend
the problem are a few of the reasons which prohibit
young girls and women who are abused from making
complaints against abusers. There is also widespread
ignorance about the law and the legislative measures,
coupled with procedural delays, which lead to nonreporting of such cases.
Devadasis
Devadasis are girls and women who have been usually
forced into prostitution in the name of religion. The
name signifies servant of god: Dev means god, Dasi
means slave. This localised practice is an ancient
Indian tradition where girls, as young as 10 and 11
years old, are married to gods and goddesses. It grows
out of a time when girls were used in temple rituals to

sing and dance while praising gods.
For this ritual practice, families dedicated their younger
girl children to the temple. The status of Devadasis
was high in the society and they were known as divine
girls. The marriage to gods usually occurs before the girl
reaches puberty and requires her to become a prostitute
for upper-caste community members. A Devadasi
cannot belong to any one particular husband, as she is
considered common property.
Due to the religious beliefs, girls are still dedicated
even today. Young children are still sexually exploited
when they reach puberty. The girls are often from the
low castes and tribal groups with a family history of
involvement and are forced to this practice under the
cover of religion. Despite the fact that police have been
posted outside the Yellamma Temple in Karnataka,
where the dedication ceremony takes place, few seem to
be held accountable.7
Reaching out to the Devadasis can be a challenge.
The girls involved in the ancient tradition are difficult
to identify as they are young and must bravely come
forward or register a case against the priests in order
to be helped through the legal system. The dedication
ceremonies are carried out in secret.
Miraj, located in the central western part of India, is
known for the Devadasi system, which has turned many
young girls and women into temple prostitutes. This
practise also exists in the Bellary district in the south
of India, where many girls are dedicated to goddess
Yellamma on a full moon.8
This religious practice makes the communities, and
especially the girls and women involved, highly
vulnerable to HIV and AIDS. Bellary has a high level of
cross border migration of women who are forced into
prostitution in Andhra Pradesh, a neighbouring state.
Mani lost her Devadasi mother to HIV. Her grandmother, also a Devadasi, died as well. Now she lives
with her great-grandmother, aged 80.
34
The women come to Bellary for anonymity and there,

among the ruins of famous stone temples and the great
numbers of tourists, they are infected with HIV. The
district now has a very high prevalence of HIV infection
(over 4,000 people were reported HIV-positive by
December 2004). In Bellary, 1.8% of pregnant women
tested positive for HIV at ante-natal clinics during the
2005 Sentinel Surveillance.9
World Visions response

In both Bellary and Miraj, World Vision (WV) India is
working among the Devadasi community.
We provide care and support and work with faith-based
organisations to transform lives by bringing Devadasis
out of the sex trade and providing them with skills
training and alternate livelihood for their survival.
Our Area Development Programme in Miraj city
also works among women and girls in the Miraj red
light area on issues of HIV and AIDS and caring
for their young children. Sadly, stigma often curbs
sexually exploited women and childrens restoration
and integration back into society. WV India focuses
on challenging the taboos and stigma engrained in the
society that often discriminates against the victim rather
than empathising with her.
WV India works especially with the daughters of
Devadasis to equip them with skills and the opportunity
for a better life than their mothers. These girls so often
are forced into the same cycle of abuse as their mothers.
WV partners with other faith-based organisations to
provide shelter for the girls and education, such as a
health worker courses, to give these girls alternatives.
Some of the additional programmes and activities WV
India has instituted to protect, care for, and rehabilitate
girls associated with Devadasi include:
Prevention:
Partnering with Devadasi women who volunteer as
peer educators, talking and sharing on the issues of
HIV and the relevance of education for the children
of Devadasis; meeting with the Devadasi women,
especially those who have young girl children, as they
are at high risk of being dedicated.
Providing recreational activities and other
educational programmes to engage children and
develop their interest in pursuing their education.
Children, especially daughters of Devadasis, usually
drop out of school and are dedicated to the gods at
an early age.
Training HIV-positive mothers in the prevention
of parent-to-child-transmission (PPTCT) and
nevirapine (anti-retroviral) drug use.
Creating awareness and sensitisation of HIV and
AIDS, training girl peer educators and using an
adolescent girls training module.
Care:
Providing food supplies and skills training to women
living with HIV and AIDS, who have lost their
income source due to infection.
Running a health clinic in Miraj for women and
children for various aliments, including HIV and
AIDS, STIs and opportunistic infections.
Equipping children with life skills to protect
themselves, to care for their chronically ill parents,
and counselling and engaging with their families to
plan and make decisions about their care and needs
after their parents are gone.
Improving access to basic health education, which
leads to an improved quality of life for children and
economic resources for the family.
Partnering with the state government, hospitals and
community-based organisations through technical
support and resources, enhancing their capacity to
continue to address the issue of HIV and AIDS.
Caring for children away from the red light area;
children of women in the commercial sex trade
benefit from the night shelter.
Advocacy:
Forming self-help groups of women in the Devadasi
system to save money and build up their economic
condition, help leave the system, and empower them
with training on their rights.
Increasing awareness among local community
leaders and community members about the practise
of Devadasis and the impact of HIV and AIDS on
children and families; working to develop a broad
sense of responsibility for a shared action to reduce
the stigma and discrimination that surrounds people
living with HIV and AIDS.
Protecting girls from

prostitution
The Rajnut community in Rajasthan celebrates the
birth of a girl child. Unlike the rest of the country
where girls are often considered a burden, here they
are seen as a blessing. Girl children are given special
treatment and are visibly indulged throughout their
early years. They receive special food, clothes and
jewellery and the entire community attends to their
physical well-being. Ironically, this care is only in
preparation to send them into prostitution. The eldest
daughters are raised with the full awareness that the
communitys survival depends on the money they will
make in the sex trade.
35
Village parents not in the Ranjut community do not

wish their children to mingle with children whose
parents work in the sex trade, so there can be no
friendships with children outside their world. Faced
with such humiliation, many boys run away or turn to
soliciting for the women of the family.
Non-formal Education class for Mumbai children who are unable to go to regular school. Staffed by
enthusiastic volunteers, the programme prepares kids to be able to attend regular schools. The classes
are held at night, from 7-9.
Education or alternative ways of earning money are not

seen as options for the girls of Rajnut community. The
communitys economic and social organisation ensures
that these girls do not question their fate.
Girls remain sequestered in the village waiting to reach
puberty, when they may enter the sex trade. Gradually
they are groomed to enter the sex trade and to accept
responsibility for the upkeep of the family. In time,
they take over from their mothers whose earning power
diminishes with age or due to HIV and AIDS.
Education of girls was never a priority for this
community as it is felt that it would make them too
smart for the trade and they believe there is no other
use for girls.
This community lives in scattered villages along
the highways of Jaipur district in Rajasthan and its
economy is organised around prostitution.
The women in the community historically sold sex
acts to the many maharajahs (kings) and princes in the
region. With the decline of the royal families, and few
other skills among the community, they now sell sex to
travellers along the highways, farmers and merchants
conducting business in nearby towns, truck drivers and
rural landowners.
The men and boys of the Rajnut community primarily
act as pimps for their mothers and sisters. Ostracised by
the rest of society, they are not allowed to stay within
the villages. The boys are sometimes even refused
purchases in local shops. Teased and assaulted in school,
the boys often drop out or are dismissed.
36
Communities like Rajnat have become some of the

nations worst HIV- and AIDS-affected areas. This
exploitation of girls not only hurts them as individuals,
but has become a social, physical, psychological and
economic problem for the entire community and
surrounding areas.
World Vision Indias

involvement
These social practices led WV India in 1996 to begin
developmental projects with a focus on integrating
these ostracised people into mainstream society and
equipping the girls especially with alternate incomegenerating skills. The efforts are multi-pronged, aimed
at keeping children in school through the education
of mothers, providing vocational training for youth,
and working to increase acceptance of the community
members among the other villagers.
WV India works with women and children of school
age through childrens clubs, coaching programmes and
other means to build awareness on the value of education, show children that education can be joyful and
that they can participate without fear of harassment.
Some additional results include:
Self-help groups help the women generate more
income for their families and identify alternate
livelihood sources. WV provided vocational training
programmes like tailoring and purse painting
for women and girls to increase employment
opportunities.
Girls and boys of the community are empowered
as agents of change to achieve transformational
development in their own community and they have
created awareness of HIV for their family members.
An inter-village sports event was conducted which
allowed other caste villagers to mingle with the
community. This led to greater acceptance of the
community in day-to-day life, including at the
childrens school.
Focusing on the children, particularly the girl children,
WV India teaches life skills to provide opportunities
for alternate livelihoods and options away from the
Rajnut communitys traditional sex trade.

To ensure a girls right to protection, four child
protection committees are in place. WV has also
formed six childrens clubs, which give children an
opportunity to express themselves, learn and play
together.
Freedom, rights and

the fullness of life
WV India has been working in India for over 50
years for the betterment of children. We draw on our
experience working with children who are sexually
abused under the pretext of culture and religion in this
paper to demonstrate the discrimination suffered by the
girl child in India and share lessons learned.
In the practices of the Devadasis and through
prostitution, girls are not valued as precious human
beings but instead suffer discrimination and violence;
they are denied the freedom, rights and the fullness of
life to which they are entitled.
Prostitution of girls is a consequence of the interplay
between various factors within the society that drive
the demand for commercial sex, and disempower and
discriminate against girl children. High-risk behaviour,
the Devadasi system, migration, disintegrated family
ties, promiscuity, poverty and illiteracy all play a role in
the exploitation of the girl child.
Therefore, advocacy and poverty reduction programmes
through integrated Area Development Projects are
potent antidotes. Legislative measures are inadequate in
providing the entire solution to the problem. Prevention
and restoration must be done at international, national
and local levels simultaneously, without which a
programme will prove ineffective. A law will do little if
we do not have concern for these girls and women as
fellow human beings, deserving of rights, our protection,
and care.

government:
1. Declare the custodial rights of children to
mothers. Fathers or male family members
names should not be required for the
provision of rights and services, especially in
hospitals, schools, colleges and other public
services.
Sahina, 7, at the Kahnkana Tombs, next to Barapula Slum, holding out a bouquet of flowers. She has
now been admitted to a public school and will be in first grade. Shell be older than most of the other
kids in her class. She comes from the poorer side of the slum.
2. Work together with non-governmental

organisations and combine social and
political will with effective responses to
eliminate the problem of child abuse. Every
community should have an active and
effective child protection committee that
includes relevant professionals.
3. Sensitise law enforcement to be gender
sensitive and understand and identify
human trafficking and commercial
sexual exploitation of children. The
implementation of laws to protect children
and women from violence and all forms
of sexual exploitation must be strictly
monitored; punishment must be ensured to
those who violate the laws.
4. Create, fund and partner with multinational
and regional coalitions to stop human
trafficking, prevent child sex tourism, and
identify and prosecute traffickers and abusers
of children.
5. Use educational and information campaigns
to create public awareness of religious and
culture practices that exploit girl children.
Social, political and cultural gender equity
is essential for the prevention of the sexual
exploitation of girls and women; community
awareness and participation has to be
supplemented with law enforcement.
6. Ensure free, quality, compulsory, inclusive
education for all children, especially girls;
provide housing for children studying away
from their homes and closely monitor
childrens enrolment and retention.
Simultaneously, the ParentTeacher
37
Association should be strengthened with

community-based organisations and local
governments to ensure basic infrastructure,
quality education, water, and bathroom
and sanitation facilities, especially for girl
children in all schools, to prevent school
dropouts.
7. Allocate resources to womens groups, to the
vocational training of women entrepreneurs,
and to building the capacity of these groups
to become agents of change in society.
8. Prevent parent-to-child-transmission of
HIV by administering medications and
appropriate behaviours in all government
and private hospitals, and create monitoring
systems to hold hospitals accountable for
compliance.
www
by Reena Samuel, Communication Coordinator, with
Karoline Davis, National Coordinator of Gender and
Advocacy, World Vision India
1. ECPAT, A Situational Analysis of Child Sex Tourism in India (Kerala and Goa),
Equations, Dec 2003. http://www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/projects/sex_
tourism/India-Equations.Web.pdf
2. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices 2004, February 2005.
3. ECPAT, op.cit.
4. WV acknowledges some adult womens preference and choice to be called
commercial sex workers or female sex workers but also acknowledges
that for many women it is not a choice nor truly work, but oppression.
5. M Farley, A Cotton, J Lynne, S Zumbeck, F Spiwak, ME Reyes, D Alvarez, U
Sezgin, Prostitution and trafficking in nine countries: An update on violence
and posttraumatic stress disorder, in M Farley (ed.) Prostitution, trafficking
and traumatic stress, Birmingham, NY: Haworth Press, Inc; 2003. pp. 3374
6. UNAIDS, 2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic, May 2006.
7. World Vision India, ADP Bellary Proposal Document, June 2006.
8. ibid.
9. PFI, Sentinel Surveillance, HIV and AIDS situation and response, 2004.
38
Empowerment:
the key to girl child equity
World Vision Ghana
ender equality is an issue of development

effectiveness, not just a matter of political
correctness or kindness to women. Evidence
demonstrates that when women and men have equal
opportunities, economies tend to grow faster, the poor
move more quickly out of poverty, and the well-being of
men, women, and children is enhanced.1
International conferences, conventions and goals, as
well as local, national, and regional conferences and
seminars of the past decades have drawn attention to
the need to address gender inequity in the alleviation
of poverty. In Ghana, gender inequity, patriarchy and
discrimination against women is perpetuated and has
become a vicious cycle which needs to be broken in
order to give way to sustainable development.
Ghana has intentionally and strategically put in place
mechanisms and government organisational changes
aimed at bridging the gap between male and female
equity and facilitating greater attention to gender and
development issues. However, as demonstrated through
the following examination of the status of the girl child
in Ghana, most nations still require a significant change
of deeply-held cultural attitudes and practices before
girls will truly be empowered and free of discrimination
and violence.
to limit women and girls ability to participate in and

contribute to national development. In Ghana, of the
277 assembly members in the Upper East region of the
country, only 18 are women.3 This picture is the same
in all the ten regions of the country and also in the
national leadership.
Despite the global movement for gender equality, girl
children are still confronted with issues that retard
their development. Harmful traditional practices such
as female genital mutilation/circumcision, widowhood
rites, early child marriages and food taboos, which
adversely affect the health, well-being and dignity of
women and girls, are still being practiced, often by
women themselves in the name of tradition or through
ignorance of their adverse effects.
Rape cases are now common in Ghana, as in many parts
of Africa. Women and girls go through great trauma
and, at times, die as a result of rape. The HIV and
AIDS cases among young women and girls in Africa
continue to grow, bringing with this tragedy additional
social problems.
The status of the girl child

in Ghana
Historically, women in Ghana, like in many parts of
the world, have not been treated equally to men in
opportunity, dignity or power.2
Gender discrimination is still experienced in decision
making in the home, family, community, politics,
religion and all areas of social life. Several studies have
shown that significant gender inequalities continue
Villagers tend their cassava farm, which is 9 miles one way from their home plots. One man rides a
bike each day on this journey but his wife walks the distance three times a week, after fetching water
and cooking.
39
Childrens voices
World Vision asked children what they want from their government
and civil society. These are their responses:
Advise our parents to be

more responsible and take our
education more seriously.
We want our teachers to be more
regular at school and show more
commitment to their work.
My school should have clean
and safe toilet facilities.
We need school uniforms, sandals, a
computer laboratory, a library and if
possible electricity in our towns and villages
to enable us to study during the night.
We need safe drinking water.
We do not like the immoral lifestyles such as
prostitution, drunkenness and theft, which are
common in our communities.
We want the freedom to express our views.
We need recreation
centres where we can
play.
Every child must go to school.
In school, girls should
be treated with the same
respect as boys.
The traditional balance of labour between women and

men has been disturbed in Ghana by significant levels
of social change, and as a result, the responsibilities
shouldered by women and girls far outweigh their
current access to resources. Men and women, boys
and girls do not equally share the domestic burdens.
This has weakened the capacity of women to fulfil
the demands of their productive, reproductive and
community service roles. This has implications for their
children and the well-being of society as a whole.
The burden of women and girls is usually unappreciated,
unrecognised and unrewarded. Hence, women and girls
are most affected by poverty due to their numerous roles.
Girl children are especially discriminated against and
disempowered even in their own homes. In Ghana,
the extended family, even domestic maidservants in
40
urban areas, have important influence on a childs

development. Cultural and social ceremonies and rites
are also an important part of a childs upbringing.
When a girl is born, she is seen as one who belongs to
another family, whereas a boy is seen as one who will
continue the family tree. Large portions of Ghanaian
society prefer to educate boys over girls, as they believe
that the girls place is in the kitchen. They claim she
will marry and leave her parental home to join her
husbands family, but the boy will stay in his parents
home to continue the family line. Therefore, some girls
are not enrolled in schools or are withdrawn or drop out
at an early age.
Because gender issues are so culturally stratified in
Ghana, understanding and acknowledging the inequity
and relationships between men and women are rare.
Many cultural norms that impede or hinder the
progress of women and girls still exist and are practiced
regularly.
World Vision Ghanas

child rights survey
World Vision (WV) has provided relief, development
and advocacy operations in Ghana since 1979. We
work with communities and governmental and nongovernmental agencies to promote holistic, integrated,
people-focused development with a special emphasis
on children. Our model of development is practiced
through Area Development Projects (ADPs), which
aim to bring fullness of life to communities through
focusing on children and their families. WV Ghana is
currently operating in 27 of the 138 districts in Ghana.
WV Ghana conducted a large-scale child rights survey
in 11 districts of Ghana in 2005. The survey used both
quantitative and qualitative techniques to gather data.
Two questionnaires were used for the quantitative
survey; one for adults over 18 years of age and the other
for children aged between five and 17 years. In each
area surveyed, 75 questionnaires were administered to
adults and 75 questionnaires to children, representing
150 households.
The survey revealed a number of critical issues,
especially concerning the status of the girl child in
Ghana. WV Ghanas survey identified the need to
empower children, particularly girls, by educating the
public on childrens rights and the effects of gender

inequity, child labour and abuse on the growth and
development of children.
One may note that most of the findings of the
child rights survey also stand true for boys and
recommendations may be drawn for the improvement
of the status of boys as well. This only serves to remind
us that girls and womens rights are human rights and
all human rights, of men, women, boys and girls, must
be protected.
WV Ghana found that teenage pregnancy, early
marriage and child labour are the main challenges to the
development of the girl child in our communities.
Teenage pregnancy, early marriage

A significant number of girls in some rural communities
become pregnant at as young as 13 years and they
usually have no other options but to marry early. On
average, girls marry at around age 15, while boys marry
from 18 years.4 It is very common to see children
carrying and nursing their own children in some rural
communities and towns. The results are widespread
early marriages, a rapid increase in population and
increasing incidences of child neglect.
Sadly, many of these teenage pregnancies and early
marriages are results of the rape of young girls. WV
Ghana found that child defilement (rape) is widespread
but residents consider it a norm. Although most
respondents to the WV survey said some of the girls do
get pregnant at age 13, they insist that there had never
been a legal case for child defilement or rape. People in
some parts of the district believe that it is not an offence
for a man to impregnate a girl no matter what her age,
so long as he then marries her.
Stories of empowered
girls and women
Ruth
Ruth has an unusual story to tell. My life changed just because I
picked up courage, walked up to the World Vision Asante Akim Area
Development Project (ADP) Manager when she was in my community three years ago, and got myself a higher education.
Eighteen-year-old Ruth is the first born of five children. After
completing her junior secondary school her father died. His death
also put an end to her academic dreams. and her mother soon
arranged for her to work at a local bakery.
It was during one of my sales rounds that I saw the World Vision
manager. I have always admired the work World Vision is doing in
my community and knowing about their sponsorship programme, I
prayed that my request would be granted, explains Ruth.
Through WV assistance, Ruth was admitted to secondary school half
way through the first term. With determination she finished Agogo
State Secondary School as the Assistant Girls Prefect,Vice President
of the Scripture Union, President of the Science Club, 1500 metre
running champion and second best in 100 metres sprinting, and
most importantly as a role model for her peers.
The school headmaster said, I admitted her because World Vision
was involved and also because I saw a determination and the will to
succeed in her. True to my convictions, Ruth has proven to be a leader
to most of the girls here.
WV Ghana only provided the support, it was Ruths hard work,
ambition and the support of the community that made her succeed.
More girls like Ruth need to be given a chance at education and a
better life.
Widespread child labour

The survey also revealed widespread child labour.
Due to poverty, irresponsible parental practices, and
sometimes peer influence, some girls engage in child
labour activities (such as farming, selling firewood, petty
trading and even trade sex) to raise money for their
school fees. These activities take much of their time
and so they spend very little time studying after school.
Often, these girls are unable to combine schoolwork
and their activities and therefore drop out of school.
Because of the preference for sons, it is often the girls
who leave school to support their families. In fact, some
Ruth
41
parents no longer provide basic needs for their working

girl children; the girls are left to fend for themselves.
In West Mamprusi District, Northern Region, about
3% of girls between the ages of nine and 12 years
migrate to the south to work as porters (they carry
goods from shops to other places for a fee) to raise
money for their parents back home, while their brothers
remain in school. In most cases, these girls live on the
streets and are exposed to a lot of criminal activities.
Some of them are raped and become pregnant.
The causes of child labour were identified as:
poverty
parental negligence
peer group pressure
livelihood needs
broken homes
Poverty appears to be the main factor causing the
widespread child labour and high school dropout rates
in the rural communities. Parents have no economic

means and are unable to prevent their children from
working (sometimes at risk to their health.) Most
families benefit from the income earned by children
and, as such, stopping them from working means
reducing the family income.
Girls education
A significant number of children are not in school
because of their inability to pay school fees. Even
though Ghana now operates the Free Compulsory
Basic Universal Education (FCUBE) policy, which is
supposed to ensure free primary school for all children,
some girls are still not in school.
In some of the districts, respondents admitted that girls
drop out of school very often. They attributed this to
more than just poverty but also to poor teaching and
learning conditions. In some of the communities, there
are no school buildings or they are in a deplorable state.
Sometimes, girls have to walk long distances to attend
classes, to communities where there are schools.
Teachers also refuse postings in rural communities
because of the lack of accommodation. Attracting and
maintaining teachers in the rural communities is a big
challenge and needs critical attention.
The government also needs to provide quality education
and schools so that parents value sending their girls to
school. Some respondents shared how their increasing
number of dependant children makes it difficult for
them all to attend school. This has resulted in many
girls dropping out of school and engaging in various
economic activities to fend for themselves and also
support their families.
Most communities do not have playgrounds or childfriendly spaces for children. It is therefore not surprising
that most children spend their leisure time working for
money.
Childrens welfare
A young girl in class. Education is key to empowering girls in Ghana.

photo: Esperanza Ampah/World Vision
42
Most respondents admitted that children sometimes

suffer abuse in the hands of adults. The abuses include
beating, carrying heavy loads, denying children
food and other basic rights, insults and other verbal
attacks and forced marriages. Harassment of girls by
adults is also commonplace. Girls especially suffer the
extreme form of child sexual abuse. Some respondents
also reported that a number of adult men in their

communities rape schoolgirls.
In light of these issues that harm the girl child and
prevent her from achieving a quality education,
children, parents and development practitioners call for
the enactment of laws to allow students to attend school
regularly.
Health concerns for girls

Most of the communities identified malaria, fever, diarrhea
and meningitis as the leading causes of death. Child
survival is threatened by the prevalence of these diseases
and the limited number of health facilities and workers
in the rural communities. This has obvious negative
implications for child survival. People in the districts often
resort to herbal medications and other forms of traditional
girls and women
Janet
Poverty makes women vulnerable to sexual exploitation.
Janet recounts that, I was forced to mingle with men even while in
secondary school, thinking they could provide my material needs. But
there is no free lunch and the providers would exact their investment.
I became pregnant and a dropout at the second year of my secondary
education. Sitting at home with a child, without financial support, was
frustrating. So I drifted south to do menial jobs in Kumasi. But menial
jobs are never permanent. When I heard that World Vision was ready to
assist needy dropouts, I believed that would end my woes. I responded
and was assisted to attend the Bongo Womens Training Institute from
2002 to 2005.
Janet, now 28 years old, began learning catering skills. She was assisted
with fee payment, provisions for practical work, sustenance allowance,
and other needs. WV Ghana staff educated Janet on HIV and AIDS, encouraged her to make values-based decisions and provided her spiritual
nurture and social education. After the course, she was given the startup capital and catering equipment to start her own business.
A single mother of two, she now works as a caterer and cares for her
children, mother and herself. She believes girls should not depend on
men if it leads to exploitation, but instead should be empowered with
the skills and resources that give them control of their own lives. She
has employed two young mothers through her business who are then
able to provide for their own children.
Janet says, I am now a person. She encourages governments and
NGOs to support mothers to undertake income-generating activities
to take care of their childrens needs.
practices that often are not sufficient to treat diseases. The

lack of health care also degrades the reproductive health
of the community. Many girls, especially young mothers,
suffer and even lose their own lives or their babies because
of this lack of health care access.
WV Ghana learned that most households do not have
sanitation facilities. There are also no public toilets in
most communities and this creates health problems.
Private sanitary facilities are especially important for
menstruating girls. The children indicated that they did
not like the filth that engulfs their communities, noting
that people defecate just anywhere resulting in poor
sanitary conditions.
Recognition of childrens rights

Most children, girls and boys, are not aware of their
rights. Although some of the adults indicated awareness
of childrens rights and laws that exist to protect them,
most could not provide specific information.
Children, especially girls, seldom participate in decision
making both at the household and community levels.
Decisions on the future careers and family lives of most
children are largely in the hands of their parents.
A significant proportion of births in these districts were
not registered. Without registered birth dates, many
children are deprived of government services to which
they are entitled. Since people are becoming aware that
children have the right to a legally registered name, this
is a good opportunity to promote birth registration in
the districts. Increasing the number of births attended
by Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) will protect the
well-being of mothers and newborns and increase birth
registration. The government is embarking on a national
programme that requires all citizens to have a valid birth
registration card. Registration is a must if the country
is to ensure a girls education, nutrition and health care,
and protection from early marriages, trafficking and
child labour.
Empowering girls
WV Ghana, like other development agencies and the
Ghanian government, has acknowledged the positive
link between gender equity, poverty alleviation, girls
empowerment, and the well-being of all children.
We have worked to empower both women and men to
obtain equal access to and control over key resources
43
girls and women
Mary
Mary lost her father when she was three years old. Her mother had to
provide for six children, as well as take care of their educational needs.
Marys chances of receiving an education were slim because her three
brothers were first in line for education when the family had to decide
who would go to school. Fortunately, WV was able to offer Mary sponsorship that allowed her to stay in school.
The provision of material things such as livestock (for generating nutritious food and income), school uniforms, educational materials, and
other basic necessities were crucial to Marys continued education and
the well-being of her family. Even certificate examinations present a
financial burden for her family. Marys story illustrates the need for free,
quality education for all children.
Today, Mary attends secondary school. WV covers her tuition in response to her academic achievement.
Her dream now is to enter the university to pursue business education.
She believes that students who are needy but want to go to school
should be supported so that they can realise their potential.
such as land, credit, food, health, education and legal

rights. We encourage them to speak out and challenge
the exploitive structures that cause their poverty. Many
of these activities focus on the girl child, who will either
continue the poverty cycle or be empowered to break it.
To break the cycle, projects such as the education funds
for promising but needy girls, the provision of improved
education infrastructure, youth skill training for school
dropouts, childrens rights education, and HIV and AIDS
education are being undertaken to empower children in
27 districts across the country.
Nelson Mandela taught us that, Education is the
most powerful weapon that can be used to change the
world.5 Gender and poverty issues must be addressed
together through education and socialisation. The
children of today will grow to become adults of
tomorrow and produce what society invests in them.
Empowering the girls now could turn them into
empowered women who will make informed decisions
about their development.
We can break the harmful cycle of gender inequity
and discrimination by starting with children and
youth. The most effective tool for empowerment is
education. Through both formal and informal education
44
girl children can be empowered to free themselves from

negative societal structures and laws that marginalise
them. In formal education, child rights and gender
equality can be included in the school curricula to enable
children to know their rights and how to relate to the
opposite sex. Through informal education, there should
be gender sensitisation programmes to enable households
to create gender equitable environments for the
socialisation of both girls and boys. Children learn from
their parents and their environment and communities
must be made aware of their human rights.
World leaders, national leaders, development
practitioners and parents, let us end illiteracy, empower
the girl child and end poverty.
The rights of children to survival, development,
protection and participation are hampered by a series
of compounding factors, which include ignorance
of their rights. It is therefore not enough for
governments to ratify all the human rights and other
international conventions documents without sharing
the information with the men, women, boys and girls
whom these agreements are meant to protect and
empower.
In designing programmes to protect the rights of
girls, it is important to ensure that these programmes
are effective in addressing gender equity issues and
empower all people to become aware of childrens and
womens rights and gain access to the resources and
information they need to achieve fullness of life.

government:
1. Educate parents on childrens rights and
their own human rights; boys and girls, men
and women must all be educated on their
rights and roles in building gender equity
and the laws protecting them.
2. Collaborate with NGOs on a massive
campaign, employing educational tools such
as film and drama, to sensitise communities
to child rights and the effects of child labour
and abuse on the growth, empowerment and
development of children.
3. Enforce laws on child abuse and genderbased violence; employ political will,
funding and proper reporting mechanisms
reduce infant and mother mortality, and

prevent the spread of HIV. They should
also be sensitised to the importance of birth
registration.
7. Encourage communities to devise strategies
that enable children to effectively participate
in community decision making. This can
be done by encouraging the formation of
childrens associations/clubs and building
their capacity to advocate for children.
8. Improve teaching and learning in the schools
to ensure high retention and completion
rates through the removal of all fees and
the provision of better and more school
buildings, textbooks, teaching and learning
materials, and incentives that attract and
maintain quality teachers, especially in rural
districts.
www
by Joyce Jackson, Gender and Development
Coordinator, with Benedicta Pealore, ADP Manager,
Esperanza Ampah, Communications Coordinator,
Stella Nkrumah-Ababio, Child Rights Coordinator and
Victor Bampo, Communications Officer, World Vision
Ghana
Children playing. World Vision encourages individuals to speak out and challenge the exploitive
structures that cause their poverty. Many of these activities focus on the girl child, who will either
continue the poverty cycle or be empowered to break it.
that do not undermine the security of those

who report such cases.
4. Educate men and boys on their roles in
preventing violence and the rights of the
girl child not to be sexually exploited.
Girls also need to be educated on their
rights and empowered to prevent abuse
and unwanted sex.
5. Include sex education in school curriculum
as a part of the socialisation process. It
should encourage values-based decision
making, challenge harmful and risky
behaviours, and empower children and
youth to resist unwanted sex and delay
sexual activity, with the prevention of HIV
and AIDS as a central tenant.
6. Enhance health care delivery in the
districts by providing facilities and medical
personnel. The Ministry of Health should
train Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs)
in communities to ensure quality service,
1. World Bank, Integrating gender into the World Banks work: A strategy for action;
2002. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTGENDER/Resources/strategypaper.pdf
2. Rev Dr Emmanuel Martey, International gender conference papers; 1999.
3. S Abaane Bolgatanga, Women Marginalised in Decision Making, Daily
Graphic: 10 July 2006. p 44.
4. World Vision Ghana Child rights survey report, conducted in 10 World Vision
Ghana Area Development Programmes, July 2005.
5. Global Campaign for Education, Learning to survive: How education for all would
save millions of young people from HIV/AIDS; April 2004. http://www.oxfam.org.
uk/what_we_do/issues/education/downloads/gce_hivaids.pdf
45
hope for
the girl child
a briefing paper
Gender and Development Office

World Vision Partnership Offices
800 West Chestnut Avenue
Monrovia, CA 91016-3198
USA
Tel. 1.626.303.8811 Fax 1.626.301.7786
International Policy and Advocacy
World Vision House
Opal Drive
Fox Milne Milton Keynes MK15 0ZR
United Kingdom
Tel. 44.1908.841.063 Fax 44.1908.841.064
United Nations Liaison Office
4th floor, 216 East 49th Street
New York, NY 10017
USA
Tel. 1.212.355.1779 Fax 1.212.355.3018
www.globalempowerment.org
Regional Offices
Africa
P.O. Box 50816
Karen Road, off Ngong Road
Karen, Nairobi,
Kenya
Tel. 254.20.883.652 Fax 254.20.883.942
Asia and Pacific
P.O. Box 956, Phrakhanong Post Office
SSP Tower, 19th floor
555 Sukhumvit 63 (Soi Ekamai)
Klongton-Nua, Wattana,
Bangkok 101110
Thailand
Tel. 66.2.391.6155 Fax 66.2.381.1976
Latin America and Caribbean
Torres del Campo
Torre 1, Piso 1
frente al Centro Comercial El Pueblo
Tarrio Tournon
Aparto Postal 133, 2300 Curridabat
San Jose
Costa Rica
Tel. 506.257.5151 Fax 506.257.5151 (ext.9)
Middle East and Eastern Europe
86 Ifigeneias Street
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Tel. 357.22.870.277 Fax 357.22.870.204

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Hope for the girl child

A Briefing Paper to the United Nations

prepared by World Vision

Copyright 2007 World Vision International

World Vision Partnership Offices

Editor: Ruthi Hoffman Hanchett

Cover images clockwise from top left:

hope for the girl child

Executive summary ..........................................................................................

Protecting girls in El Salvador ...........................................................................

Beyond enrolment: the impact of household duties on girls education

Challenges facing institutionalised girls in Armenia ..........................................

Commercial sexual exploitation:

Empowerment: the key to girl child equity (Ghana) .........................................

hope for the girl child

hope for the girl child

hope for the girl child

his briefing paper to the member states of the

upholding international treaties and enforcing

hope for the girl child

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

1. Development actors include international entities, such as the World Bank,

hope for the girl child

orld Vision International welcomes the 2007

foster respect and value for girls, and to empower girls

Uphold childrens rights

World Vision recommends that governments:

hope for the girl child

the protection of human rights, and the

trap them and their families in cycles of poverty.

To this end, World Vision recommends that

hope for the girl child

and girls in especially difficult circumstances.

To this end, World Vision recommends that

World Vision acknowledges the significant challenge of

hope for the girl child

World Vision El Salvador

l Salvador has sufficient legal instruments to ensure

The government has recently committed to eliminating

World Vision El Salvador urges more decisive efforts to

Despite these achievements, disturbing violations of

hope for the girl child

enact the secondary laws required to make the spirit of

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination

Convention Concerning Equal Remuneration for Men

Some international instruments concerning women, adopted by the Salvadoran government.

hope for the girl child

The Ministry of Education reported first grade coverage

human rights, such as Environmental Unity (UNES),

First, I Learn is an initiative financed by the US

hope for the girl child

Unfortunately, in most classrooms a masculine language

Discrimination against children:

Commercial sexual exploitation

hope for the girl child

Among the ILO research sample of prostituted children

interlaced with an intricate system of mangrove roots

World Visions response

In particular, World Vision recommends that the

hope for the girl child

It is watered-down, there is a lot of mud, and

and work with civil society to ensure the